


Beauty in Red

by Dictatorofbutts



Series: It's Just A Scratch [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkward First Times, Comfort, Cutting, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Friendship/Love, I guess there I should put a trigger warning here, Identity Reveal, Nino being one hell of a best friend, References to Depression, Self-Harm, but just in the last chapter, ladrien, this is the other kind of sin that will make you cry, this story is an emotional rollercoaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:18:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 47,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5738089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dictatorofbutts/pseuds/Dictatorofbutts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuation of "Red" that used to be a one shot.<br/>Rated M for describtions of cutting (tell me if it needs a different rating)<br/>__________________________________________<br/>She had seen.<br/>He lifted up his shirt and pressed the metal against his skin.<br/>She had seen it.<br/>The skin broke. The red line followed the cold razor while the skin swelled around the line. Teeny tiny drops of blood formed on the skin where the razor had cut deep enough. Adrien let out a relieved sigh; finally feeling able to breathe again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I continue to sin.  
> This takes place right after Red. 
> 
> People pointed out that my punctuation looks weird. Please look over the punctuation mistakes; since I'm german, I'm used to the german punctuation. Long story short: I use a lot of commas. 
> 
> (Plus they're about 16/17 in this fic since their ages aren't stated anywhere)

       The way she moved was flawless. Even if they were in the middle of a fight Chat couldn’t help but stare at her in amazement. They were partner for almost three years now and still – with every mission – she managed to make him fall head over heels.  
  
       The akumatized person this time was a girl from the baseball club at school. Everybody knew that she had a huge crush on Chloe. As said honeyblonde heard of this nearly everybody in a radius of 50 miles heard her scream. Rumors spoke of two people going deaf. The other girl almost cried and sometime after that the akuma must’ve settled down inside her.  
  
       “Am I wrong or is Chloe almost always the reason why people get akumatized?”, the dark cat silently asked himself as he sat down on a chimney. By the way he crouched he could feel the dampness of the blood-soaked suit at the height of his stomach. He knew he should have waited with cutting until the mission was over. “Damn.”  
  
       “You okay there, kitty cat?” The girl in the red-black suit, being thrown back, by the enormous bat landed beside him. “You’ve been spacing out.” A worried look in her light blue eyes. Ladybug didn’t see the ball that has been beaten with unhuman strength and targeted her head.  
  
       In the split of a second Chat scooped her up and held her tight against his chest, delicately trying to not get her in touch with the blood-wet spot. “Right now I really am okay, my purr-incess!”, he said looking down to her with a toothy grin. Ladybug brought her hand up to his cheeks and for a moment all of his blood rushed to his face.  
  
       But the navy haired girl just turned his face towards the akuma. “Focus, Chat!”, she taunted him with a snarl. As another ball approached fast, she pulled him behind the next chimney. “We need to get the bat. The lucky charm is a net. What the hell am I supposed to do with it?”, she said, her eyes narrowed as she thought of the solution. “Chat, could you distr–”  
  
       “Distract him?”, he ended her sentence with a smart-ass grin. “Say nothing more! I’m always happy to lend you a paw, my lady.” With that being said he started to jump from rooftop to rooftop yelling various insults at the akuma in order to get its attention.   
  
       Meanwhile the lady in red prepared the trap. She casted her net and caught the villain that up until now tried to throw several balls at Chat. As the akumatized girl realized the situation fury ran through her veins and she turned around to glare angry at Ladybug. The hero grinned while spinning her yoyo. In the act of catching the victim of the akuma she’d let go of her bat so all the Ladybug needed to do was to put her arm under the net and get the object. Thinking she had already won the red girl totally ignored that the akumatized girl lunged out to punch her.

       Chat made a dull sound as the fist met his abdomen and send him flying together with his lady who held the bad in her hand. Dizzy from pain his vision blurred and he had problems seeing the wall both of them were flying to. His arms locked around her when he turned them both causing him to crash against a stone wall next. The only thing running through his head was that he would always protect Ladybug, even if it meant that he had to die.   
  
       Ladybugs head on the other hand was clear enough to react. She used the force they were thrown with to shatter the bat at the wall. This time she cleansed the akuma even faster than ever.  As soon as she was finished she spun around to her partner still leaning at the wall, breathing hard. Yes, the fight had been hard but they had worse. Usually he would be back on his feet, smiling and probably flirting but this time not. The way he held his stomach gave her a twisted feeling in her own. Worried she tilted her head and ran to him. “Chat”, she knelt down next to him. “I already told you, don’t endanger your life for me! – A-are you okay?” She mentally hit herself for that question. He obviously wasn’t. ‘Did his suit always look this wet?’  
  
       Even though Adrien felt like he was dying, he managed to give her a small smile. But seeing her grit her teeth his smile dropped. His body didn’t want him so sit up straight but he ignored the painful warnings and brought his hand that had been lying on his stomach to her cheeks; gently cupping it. “Are you okay, my lady?”, he asked worried as panic rose. “Did you get hurt?” He did not notice that with the small action everything would only get worse.   
  
       Ladybug froze when his gloved hand touched her face. Something stuck to it and the way it smelled told her that it wasn’t water. From her peripheral vision she saw red an on a part of her face that shouldn’t be red. “Blood.”, she concluded to herself. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding?” Her blue eyes widened in panic when he searched his. He had been hit but there had been no weapon that could’ve caused him to bleed. So why did he bleed?   
  
       Adrien pulled back his hand in shock and clenched his fist above his chest. “It’s nothing.”, he hastily said and tried to stand up. “I’m okay.”  
  
       “That’s pretty much blood for being okay.” Ladybug came closer and started searching for the cause of the blood loss. Usually she would have been shy – touching a guy – but this was serious. For once she was happy that Alya wasn’t present.  
  
       Panic pumped through his veins. This was bad. Like _really_ bad. “I’m okay!”, he confirmed. This time way louder than he wanted. He had to get away from her – instantly. And then the worst of the worst happened. Chat Noir’s suit consisted of a shirt and pants. The connection between both was hidden beneath the belt – and Ladybug quickly found out. She lifted his shirt and revealed his scarred shame, including the big cut that had been bleeding all evening. All he could hear from her was a gasp before he slammed her hand away noncharlantly. Quickly rising to his feet he tried to put a distance between them. His arms insecurely crossed in front of his chest while his claws dug into his upper arm, sending calming pain through his body.  
  
       “Chat –...”, Ladybug searched for the right words to say. Who did this to him? Why did he have all those scars? She made two steps towards him but he made five back. Why was he so scared of her?  
  
       “It’s nothing!”, he declared louder than necessary, jumping on the next street lamp. His claws dug into the metal of it. “It’s just a – scratch.”, he said before jumping off into the darkness. He got to get away from her. His stick vibrated telling him that Ladybug desperately tried to call him, but he didn’t dare to pick up.   
  
       Back home he collapsed on the bed, slamming his fist in the white pillow, ripping it apart with his claws and leaving red blood stains everywhere. Adrien continued while the transformation wore off.  
  
       She’d seen it! Shit, she had seen it!   
  
       The emotional pain in his chest was even harder than the physical pain. The beat of his heart – he was sure it was loud enough to alarm everyone in a radius of 50 miles. The blonde felt like he couldn’t breathe. His arm reached out under the pillow where one of his toys was hidden.  
  
       She had seen.  
  
       He lifted up his shirt and pressed the metal against his skin.   
  
       She had seen it.   
  
       The skin broke. The red line followed the cold razor while the skin swelled around the line. Teeny tiny drops of blood formed on the skin where the razor had cut deep enough. Adrien let out a relieved sigh; finally feeling able to breathe again. He laid down on his pillow, suddenly realizing he had destroyed it. His Lady had seen his shame. She’d hate him for sure. His eyes started to water.

  
  
       Meanwhile Ladybug got reminded of her situation by a beep of her miraculous. "Damn lying cat.", she whispered. "That's definitely not a scratch." Those cuts could only be self inflicted, that was a fact that she had to face. But why on earth would someone hurt their own body? How long did he do it? She stared into the dark sky before she decided to leave for home. Marinette got to sleep with the horrible pictures of a scarred Chat that caused her nightmares.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino and Alya are worried and Mari doesn't understand.  
> [Marinette-centered chapter]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After my heart died from episode 15 I quickly returned to writing this chapter. Probably won't be able to post the next chapter until next weekend.

       Marinette let out a deep sigh. She’d tried out several hair styles but all looked horrible. It was like her hair wanted to reflect her horrible nightmares. Dark circles highlighted her eyes causing her to use more make up than usual. She hadn’t slept good. “This won’t get better.”, she murmured as she decided for the usual pigtails which ended up messier than expected.  
  
       Her head met the cool glass of the mirror before she turned around and sat down on the ground. Burying her head in her hands. Marinette had spent half of the night looking up self-harm on her phone. She never heard of it before and if her partner really did that, she wanted to do research. But all that popped up were pictures that made her lose all appetite. Luckily her parents were out for a week so she hadn’t to explain why she did not eat breakfast.  
  
       Those pictures were like a horror movie – you don’t want to watch it because you know what it does to you but you still watch it. Maybe this was even worse because this was _real!_ The always cool and collected Ladybug wasn’t sure how to handle this kind of situation. “How should I react next time I see him?”, she quietly asked herself. “Am I supposed to say something?” She imagined herself standing in front of him tonights patrol, asking him if he harmed himself and why? No, that would be too offensive. She repeatedly hit the back of her head against the wall behind her, groaning louder. “Shit, I wanna help him.”  
  
       Just now Marinette realized that the ringing sound in her ear wasn’t her brain, trying to comprehend everything, but it was in fact her timer, reminding her, that she was late for class. Once again a curse left her lips. She grabbed her stuff and ran out of the door.  
  
\-----------  
  
       “You look horrible.”, Alya pointed out much to Marinette’s dislike. Class ended with the start of their conversation.  
  
       The navy haired girl used her math book as her pillow and her arms lay on the double desk she shared with her best friend. She had looked forward to at least seeing Adrien but the blonde model was absent today. Marinette had literally no motivation left for school.  
  
        Nino turned around and imitated the pigtailed girl on Alya’s side of the table. With his best friend gone he felt the same way Marinette felt. Alya poked Nino’s head while turning to her best friend. “Lemme guess, you’ve been up all night, stalking pictures of Adrien.”, she said with a smug grin.  
  
       Oh, how Marinette wished this was true. But it wasn’t. In fact she had been browsing pictures of horrible things. She couldn’t help but blush a little with the thought of Adrien in her head. The perfect Adrien. Remembering her friends were around she shook her head. “Bakery...”, she mumbled mechanically as she stood up. “No parents... Work’n stuff.... Need to toilet.” ‘Nice Marinette, now your sentences don’t even make sense.’  
  
       “Who else thinks that’s a lie?”, Nino grinned at Alya, who raised her hand just to take Marinette’s phone out of her pencil case. “Dude, you’re taking her phone?”  
  
        “Best friends share everything.” The girl winked at the boy. “Let’s check her phones history.”, Alya announced and unlocked the mobile phone. “Let’s see.”, she commented as she opened the browser just to drop the phone in shock.  
  
        “Earth to Alya!” Nino waved a hand in front of the young girls face and spoke in a low voice to avoid drawing attention to them. “What’s wrong? You look like she has nudes of Adrien in her phone.”  
  
       Still shocked Alya grabbed the phone again, showing the history to Nino. “Look at this.”  
  
       Nino scrolled down, exploring the depths of her phone. “Holy macaroni.”, he managed to get out as various pictures of sliced up arms popped up.  
  
The brownhaired girl jumped up informing him, that she was searching for Marinette. “I need to check on her.”  
  
  
       The girl’s bathroom was almost empty. Mylene just got out, leaving Alya alone with her best friend who yet did not know that Alya was there. As soon as Marinette left the stall Alya pinned her against the sink. “Alya, wha-”  
  
        “Show me your arms!”, the dominant friend demanded practically shoving up the clothes on her arms.  
  
       Even though Marinette wanted to complain she followed Alya’s demands. She showed her white arms to the best friend. But the brunette wasn’t satisfied. She started inspecting Marinette’s upper arms and stomach. Marinette stopped her when she was about to pull her pants down just to inspect her thighs. “What’s wrong with you?”  
  
       No signs of bruises or cuts, Alya noted. After that she fell into Marinette’s arms, hugging her tightly. “Good gracious, you aren’t doing it.”, she sighed in relief before facing the light blue eyes of her friend. “Why?”  
  
        “Why what?” Marinette was now totally confused. Did she miss something important?  
  
        “Why are you browsing such horrible things?” Alya was near tears.  
  
        “You looked in my phone?”, Marinette freaked. She cursed herself for not paying enough attention to delete her browser history. Alya’s glare was hard; still questioning her. Marinette shifted uncomfortably in her position. “I think I know someone who’s doing it.”, she practically whispered to her friend and looked to the side before adding, “A-a friend.”  
  
       Alya raised an eyebrow suspiciously. She knew all of Marinette’s friends and she didn’t expect one of them to be a cutter. Well, maybe Nathaniel showed symptoms that could be easily mistaken for self-harming but he obviously was too much of a chicken to cut. In homeroom class he couldn’t even handle a knife. No way he was the one. “Oh.”, was all she reacted with. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she picked it out. There were several missed messages and two from Nino.  
****  
[Really, I’m looking like a creep standing in front of the girl’s bathroom!]  
  
[Would both of you please come out or do I need to put on a skirt to get input? I CAN’T STAND THE TENSION!!]  
  
        “Who’s that?”, Marinette asked surprised as Alya chuckled. She leaned over to read the message. “Nino? Don’t tell me he’s seen it too?”  
  
\------------  
  
       He had seen it and in lunch break the three of them sat together at a table. Nino next to Alya and Marinette in front of them. “So, uhm, do we know your mysterious friend?”, Alya asked the shy bluenette.  
  
       Marinette shook her head. She knew it was a lie. Everybody knew Chat Noir... technically. But she knew him like nobody else did. And she’d just discovered that he had a dark side. “You’re all way smarter than me. I just found out that he is probably hurting himself and by the amount of scars I’ve seen I highly doubt that he just recently started doing this.”, she began helplessly, “I’m about to see him again today and how should I react. Should I talk about that topic? Should I –like– force him to stop?” Again she hid her face in her hands. Her shoulders dropped. “I want to help him; he shouldn’t be doing this. Nobody should be doing this.”  
  
        “Here it’s stated that you can’t force someone to stop.”, Alya said while browsing the questioned information with her phone. “It’s not like you could supervise him all the time and if he wants to do it, he will find a way. You won’t help if you order him not to cut, pick or whatever he’s been doing. I’ve sent you a few pages with trustable websites where you can find information regarding the topic self-harm.”  
  
        “How about you comfort him?”, Nino blurted out. “The way you talk about him sounds like you two are close. Maybe he needs someone to talk. You could learn the reason why he does it and maybe help limit the situations in which he feels the urge to do so? Maybe you could become the alternative for cutting.”  
  
       Alya was upset that Nino interrupted her speech, but she ignored it for once. Her hand touched the one of her best friend. “The most important thing is that you don’t act different around him. He could think you’re judging him.”  
  
       Marinette was happy to have such caring friends that actually knew stuff. “Thanks.” A smile found its way to her lips. “Thank you so much.”  
  
        “But now tell me”, Alya put on a smug grin. “Who is that guy? You’re dating someone without letting us know?”  
  
        “Yeah, what about poor Adrien?”, Nino joined the tease.  
  
       Marinette blushed heavily. “I-It’s nothing like that!” Her hands were up in defense. “We’re definitely **not** dating! And why do you have to bring up Adrien?”, she whined.  
  
       The smug grin wouldn’t leave Alya’s face. She set her chin on her hand. “Tell me more about him. Age, name, height, address, is he pretty?, what’s his body like?” Her eyes told Marinette to better tell the truth. After all Alya was the best journalist/blogger she’d ever seen. Persistent and curious.  
  
       The bluenette let out a sigh. “Okay, I tell you a few thinks. But you got to promise you won’t tell anyone – especially you, Nino!”  
  
        “My lips are sealed!”  
  
       Marinette kneated her fingers, avoiding the views of her friends while she tried to sort out what she could tell them and what not. “Well, we know each other for three years now.”, she started. “I don’t know his age and I won’t tell you his name but he is taller than me.” Her head was now filled with Chat’s cheeky grin. Her ladybug side forced her to act annoyed. “He dances on my nerves with his stupidity. He is a total flirt and makes horrible puns.”  
  
        “Sounds like you’re married!”, Nino blurted out between his laughter causing Marinette to blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Another akuma attack and Nino finding out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gets sick and Nino "finds out".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love your comments and I read every single one. I just don't reply because all I can think about is how thankful I am. You're all great readers. I love you guys. 
> 
> Jeananas wanted to see "Nino finding out about Adrien by accident". Be careful... I take things literally.

        Yellow gooey stuff stuck to his shirt like gum to a shoe. Adrien shook his head disgusted by the look and smell. Even if he was high on painkillers and antibiotics he knew what happened. His cut infected, causing him to get a high fever. Luckily nobody ever checked for actual bruises when someone had a fever. At least not in this household.  
  
         “I’m so weak.”, he said tired. “Getting ill from worrying.”  
  
         “Stop whining.”, Plagg cooed. “It’s getting you nowhere.” He flew around the room cuddling a piece of cheese. “Out of all the Chat Noir’s I worked with, you’re the weirdest one. But I don’t mind.”, he mumbled to himself.  
  
        Adrien sighed, ignoring the kwami and pushed his head further in the pillow. This place didn’t feel like home at all. Soon he’d be 18, an adult. Old enough to move out. But if he did that, he’d be screwed. First: His father wouldn’t let him leave, since his mother left Gabriel tended to treasure Adrien like a precious piece of art – even if he didn’t treat him like that, though. Second: Adrien had no financial possibilities to move out. Third: He had no job – at least none he’d liked to do. Forth: He couldn’t do anything without a personal assistant.  
       
        Oh how he wished he could be the son of someone else. Nino’s family seemed to be totally cool. From what his best friend had told him, he could talk to his parents about everything. If he felt bad his mom would give him as much candy as he wanted – Nino had no strict diet plan. His father would give him advice on girls and play sports with him. On the weekends they often did little family trips – sometimes they asked Nino if Adrien would come along but Adrien’s father always found a way to fill his schedule to the brim.  
  
         “Plagg, get into the ring.”, he slurred lost in thoughts. “I wanna sneak out and visit Nino.”  
  
        The black kwami shook its head. “I don’t think that’s –”  
  
         “I don’t care about what you think.”, Adrien cut off sharply. “Chat’s the only way to get out of here, now do as I say.”  
  
        A few minutes later the black figure could be seen jumping from roof to roof. Staggering as if drunk and not as elegant as usual.  
  
  
\---------  
  
  
         “Alya, I told you, I really don’t know who that guy Marinette is seeing could be.”, Nino walked through his room. It was a small room filled with posters of musicians and videogames. The teenager sat down at the window, looking outside as if the sky knew all the answers the brunette was asking him. Mobile phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear while swinging his hands in the air. “Seriously, it isn’t Adrien! Adrien doesn’t do stuff like that. He’s a model, you forgot? They would’ve noticed.”  
  
        It was just a split of a second. A shadow rushing downwards as if someone just jumped from the roof into his background. “Gimme a sec, Alya. Looks like a kitty tried to attempt suicide by jumping off our roof.”, Nino interrupted the dominant girl who made an upset noise. His eyes darted outside looking for whatever creature just startled him. He was surprised to find Chat Noir sitting in the grass of his background. He wanted to open the window and ask the superhero if he’s okay but then a green glow surrounded the feline creature. “What the –” Nino couldn’t believe his eyes.  
  
        “I’m gonna call you back.”, he stuttered speechless before cutting off the conversation. Chat Noir just transformed to his best friend Adrien while looking him dead in the eye. Something seemed off about him. He just stared at Nino with an almost sad look.  
  
        The fact hit him like Alya loved to do: Adrien is Chat Noir! Adrien is **fucking** Chat Noir!  
  
         “Nino, honey!”, his mother yelled from the living room. “Isn’t that your best friend in our backyard?”  
  
         “Yes, Mom!”, he answered still in shock. “I... I invited him over”  
  
         “May I ask you why he isn’t wearing pants, honey?”  
  
        Now that he looked closer Adrien really looked like he’d jumped right out of bed. His cheeks were flushed and he was huffing. “I think”, he yelled to his mother before he ran down. “he’s sick.”  
  
        With that Nino rushed out to Adrien who was still staring at – what Nino just now realized – was a black catlike thing. And that thing was able to talk. While approaching the blonde, the words “camembert” and “hungry” could be heard. The tanned boy approached his friend. “Adrien?”, he asked carefully drawing Adriens attention to him.  
  
        The blonde’s mouth split into a smile. He wanted to say something but his brain messed with his tongue just causing noisy nonsense. “Nnn..”  
  
        Nino had rarely seen his best friend like this nonetheless showing up at his house. The blonde just did that when he felt utterly uncomfortable in his mansion, most of the time when his father had screwed him up again. At those times he escaped to Nino’s room. Judging from the first look Adrien was either heavily drunk or sick. But judging from his body language and the lack of clothes he was obviously sick. “Dude, come on in.”  
  
        Nino’s mother shot her son a questioning glare before starting to prepare dinner. She heard the boys go upstairs to her son’s room. Meanwhile Nino tried to comfort his best friend with kind words. “Dude, you can’t just walk around in your underwear.”, he joked earning girlish giggles from the sick teen. Nino placed the blonde on his bed before taking place on his chair. “Man, how many painkillers did you take?”  
  
        Adrien’s head floated. He raised his hands to his face and started counting his fingers before holding up three. “This much.”  
  
         “Three?”, Nino asked in disbelief. “Are you crazy? You’re supposed to take three a day – one for each meal. **NOT** taking three at once! Did nobody teach you that?”  
  
        Shaking his head the blonde fell onto the bed. His head hitting missing the pillow; landing straight in the mattress. His feline features showed as he cuddled his head against it. “You’ve seen ‘t, ‘ight?”, he nuzzled. “’ho I am.”  
  
         “Dude, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you’re Chat Noir!” Nino adjusted his glasses and didn’t see Adrien flinch.  
  
        The blonde curled up into a ball, hugging his legs. He mistook his friends shock for anger and already saw their friendship broken. “So?”, he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes. He felt so sleepy. “I guess I fucked this friendship up too.”  
  
        Nino heard the mumbles of his friend. “I am not mad at you.”, he ensured enthusiastically. “You’re my best bud.” A satisfied grin spread across his face when he saw Adrien smiling. Boy, that dude was such a simpleton when he’s sick. Nino patted the blonde’s head before noticing that he had fallen asleep.  
  
  
  
  
        Now it was his turn to wait. Nino made himself comfortable in his chair because he was going to stay here until his friend woke up. The black creature from before flew up from Adrien. “Who ‘r you?”, the teenager asked.  
  
         “My name’s Plagg.”  
  
         “You’re the thing that makes Adrien transform, right?” Video gaming had taught him so many things about superheroes that this fact didn’t really surprise him.  
  
         “Yupp.”, Plagg answered. “Got any cheese?”  
  
        The teen sighed and promised the kwami that he would bring him cheese as soon as Adrien woke up. Satisfied the kwami flew back to his owner for a little nap. “I can’t believe it.”, Nino sighed. “I can’t believe I never noticed the similarities.” Adrien had always loved Ladybug and even though he tried to keep it a secret from him, Nino knew. He’d seen the little doodles he did in class. He’d seen Adrien’s poem on Valentine’s day. Cats seemed to love him. The way his best friend purred when they browsed the ladyblog should have been a hint for him. Adrien always seemed to resemble a cat even if he always argued that he _wasn’t a cat person_.  
  
        Two hours and many quests later the tanned boy lay down his controller to check his phone. Six missed calls from Alya and endless of text messages from her. The last one’s were the most alarming.  
  
**[There’s an akuma-attack near my house.]  
  
[I HEARD AN EXPLOSION]  
  
[Our neighbor’s house just exploded! But Ladybug’s here so don’t worry!  <3]  
  
[Wonder where Chat Noir is... He should’ve been here by now.]  
  
**[God, are you okay?], Nino typed back.  
  
**[Shit yes but that thing beat up Ladybug. I’VE SEEN HER BLEEDING.]**  
  
**[WHERE IS CHAT?]**  
  
[please stay safe. I’m sure he’s on his way!]  
  
       Nino looked to Adrien who was still a curled up ball of sickness. “I guess I’ll have to wake him up.”, Nino sighed and stood up. Adrien made a funny face when Nino poked him. If the situation wasn’t this serious he would’ve laughed. “Adrien... please wake up.”, he pleaded.  
  
       “hnng”  
  
        Drastic situations call for drastic measures, Nino thought and leaned down to his best friend’s ear. “Ladybug’s in danger!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually not happy with this chapter because it sounded way better in my head, hmpf.  
> But I hope you enjoyed it as much as you could.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for this chapter...

       “Where the fuck is Chat Noir?”, Alya screamed desperately trying to hold herself back from rushing to that damn akuma and kick its ass for hurting Ladybug. She looked over to her idol and hoped for the best.   
  
       The red suited superhero was exhausted and sat on the same place at the ground the akuma had thrown her to. The back of her head was hard of dried blood. The demon wasn’t as strong as it seemed, it was just – Marinette couldn’t concentrate. She stood up and prepared for another attack. She could handle it like she did before she met the black cat.   
  
       But her head was full of him instead of suitable fighting techniques. Chat Noir has never been the guy that came too late. In most cases he was in fact the first person at the scene. So where was he? Did he hate her now – now that he knew his secret? Did something worse happen to him?  
  
        “Argh.” The steel fist met her stomach again, sending stomach acid right into his mouth. She coughed and collapsed to the ground. Call it miraculous-power or whatsoever but she could hear Hawk Moth talking to the akumatized victim. Telling him to take her miraculous.   
  
        “Guess what I’ll do?”, the victim laughed. “I’ll just kill her and **then** I’ll take her miraculous. That’s the deal.” He mustered his steel hand and began to grin, showing rotten teeth that made Marinette cringe. At least the last akumas had been attractive but _this one_...   
  
       His fist prepared to hit her again as she closed her eyes. Marinette mentally prepared herself for the upcoming pain – but it never came. Even though she heard a silent _thud_ accompanied by a whimper. The girl blinked and saw a banana colored mess of hair in front of her. There was a person shielding her from the punch by taking it straight in his back – “Chat...”  
  
       He shot her a sad smile that was supposed to hide his pain. “I-I’m sorry, m’ lady. Y-You told me not to put myself in danger for you, but I-I did it again.”   
  
       Wrong. His voice sounded so wrong. Pretty much like her when she tried to talk to Adrien. Shy and full of fear of rejection. He was afraid of _her_.   
  
       The two hours of sleep had helped him get clear. He was now way better than before – still a little bit tipsy but way better. “Please stay here.”   
  
        “Chat…”, she repeated his name. Guilt painting her eyes, she stretched out a hand but he turned around before she could grab him.  
  
       His head shot around to find their enemy. “If you even think about hurting her, I will hunt you down and I will not show mercy.” The black cat leaped away to distract the demon and took the next punches surprisingly easy. His eyes glared with hatred towards the attacker.   
  
       Marinette watched the fight from a safe distance how the akuma did the same to Chat that he had done to her – beating him up.  Chat Noir was up to give his life just to safe her, she recognized in the back of her mind. But a small voice whispered that he maybe just wanted to die and acted like this out of being suicidal. Marinette knew that most cutters didn’t actually try to kill themselves but what if Chat was one of the few who wanted to die?   
  
        “No.”, she whispered. “No, no, no… For god’s sake – Focus, Mari.”  
  
        The lucky charm was gripped tight as she used her lucky vision to search for the solution. There it was. “Hold on, Chat.”, she murmured. “Not gonna let you die yet, we still need to talk.”  
  
        Marinette didn’t bother to say goodbye to the pure white butterfly that escaped her yoyo. Within the blink of an eye she turned around to her partner who miserably sat on the ground, watching her. She opened her mouth to at least say something but the voice inside her head reminded her of his stomach. The way he turned his head away showed her that he remembered too. She told herself to not say something wrong. “Cha–”  
  
        But an upcoming crowd cut her off. Reporters, fans, civilians and – of course – Alya ran up to the duo. They used their questions like bullets. Chat Noir who was still strangely avoiding Ladybug – and god, he looked like he was on some kind of drugs – didn’t answer and Marinette tried her best to satisfy the horde of people. For everyone else the situation seemed normal but for both teens it was horrible. The fact that they heard someone mumble “Wow, Chat Noir really sucked today, dude.”, wasn’t really helping their situation.   
  
        It hurt – both of them. His eyes drooped and she gritted her teeth. “I guess, it’s our time to leave!”, she announced.  It was up to Ladybug to walk over to her partner and pull him up. Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered “Meet me at Notre Dame.“ just for him to hear.  
  
  
  
\---------------  
  
  
  
        The black cat was the first one to arrive at the announced place since both of the superheroes took different paths to draw the attention away from them. The roof was still warm from the daytime but the ground was uncomfortable as always. God, the pain of the fight made him feel so alive. But still – there was the burning desire to pull his claws across his chest to set new marks. “Hell…”, he cursed as he remembered that Ladybug knew. She knew that he cut and she was probably grossed out. That’s why she called him up here. Panic boiled inside him.   
  
         “Hey there, kitty.”  
  
        He’d always recognize the soft voice that probably tasted like honey and strawberries. Her voice, the silent tap of her feet as she landed on the roof. Adrien tried his best to put on a smug grin – keeping on the façade of Chat Noir – but failed terribly. If only he could see himself – but all he saw was the browngreyish ground. “Ladybug, listen…”  
  
        The red suited girl bent down, feeling his head at the part that bled. Green eyes shot up in surprise to meet her gentle but still worried smile. “Silly kitty.”, she taunted, opening a first aid kit that she’d brought along. Straight after they’d separated she got into the next best house and basically stole the kit. Of course she thought of giving it back but she needed to patch him up at least. She gently rubbed off the dried blood with a cotton ball, noticing his spaced off look and feeling the heat of his fever. “If you’re sick you should’ve stayed home.”  
  
        She hated him. Adrien was totally sure she hated him. The voices inside his head told him and they were never wrong. ‘I’m such an asshole’, he thought. ‘She is hurt too and I’m just drowning in self pity.’ He bit his lip causing it to bleed a little. The pain calmed him but they could never prepare him for what came next. Her next words hit him like a train.   
  
         “After yesterday I had a lot of time to think and I don’t think we should patrol anymore.”, she said placing the finishing patch on his forehead.   
  
        Adrien jumped to his feet. No, she couldn’t do that. “Ladybug, please... no.”, he pleaded but her eyes shut him up. She was deadserious. His world made of thin glass cracked. His life as Chat Noir together with Ladybug was the only thing that kept him alive. “O-okay.”, he murmured and turned around, walking slowly away from her. No, he wouldn’t cry in front of her. His eyes were just burning because of some random feather flying around, he told himself. Adrien knew this day would probably come. The day somebody found out. The day someone would push him away again. But he never imagined her to be this heartless. ‘Guess, I deserve that.’, he thought depressed and hugged himself.  
  
        Arms wrapped around himself, he digged his claws in his sides. A sigh left his lips before he could recollect his thoughts. Turning around he shot her one last smile. A sad smile that gave away so many emotions at a time.   
  
       “So this is a goodbye, right?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of crying and a broken Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't let you wait and cry.

_“So this is a goodbye, right?”_  
   
        An alarm got off in Marinette’s head. Goodbye? What did he mean by that? She tilted her head in confusion when realization hit her.  ‘Oh no’, she thought. Was he about to do what she thought he wanted to do? He’d misunderstood. She wasn’t even finished talking!!!!  
  
         “Chat, no!”, she screamed while jumping towards him, grabbing him by the shoulder. Even though she was strong, their strength was the same. He held his position and didn’t turn around.  
  
        “What?” His voice sounded bitter and sad. “I thought you wanted us to not patrol together anymore.”  
  
         “Would you please listen to me for once before jumping to conclusions?” Now it was her turn to get angry. Her hand tightened on his shoulder causing him to turn his head around a little. “I wasn’t even finished, silly cat. So please, let’s sit down and hear me out, okay?”  
  
        His heart skipped a beat. So maybe she didn’t want them to separate? Adrien gave her a silent nod and followed her. He still had his suspicions and didn’t want to get his hopes too high, but he followed her until they sat across each other. “So?”  
  
        Marinette sighed. She ran a hand through her hair and for once she was happy that she de-transformed  and transformed back before coming here. That gave her a little bit more time to explain. “I really thought about this and I think we should not patrol anymore.”, the ladybug repeated her words, carefully watching her voice so that it indicated that she had to say more than just this. “Look, you aren’t okay – not just that you’re sick, but you’re hurting yourself and get your life in danger every time we fight an akuma – that isn’t healthy. I need a partner I can fully trust in a fight and not someone who I have to worry about whether he lets himself get killed or not. I could easily search for a new partner but it would be a pain in the ass and I would surely miss your stupid puns.” She placed a hand on the black leather of his knee, tilted her head and smiled. “Look, I don’t know why you do that and I won’t force you to tell me either. I don’t understand what makes you do it, but I want to learn. I did a little bit of research about self-harm and I want to help you stop. That’s why I suggested we cancel patrol.  We don’t need to have therapy sessions but we could – like now – just sit here and talk and maybe – ... Chat?”  
  
        Halfway through her monologue he started crying. For the first time in about seventeen years of his life he cried out of happiness. Ladybug didn’t hate him. She cared for him. She wanted to help him. All of the buildup fear floated out of his eyes (and his nose as well). He felt so happy, so ... _alive_.  
  
        Marinette freaked out when she saw him crying. Afraid she could’ve said something wrong. “Oh my god, did I do something wrong?”  
  
        Unable to form words the black cat shook its head violently. His head felt so dizzy because due to all of this he actually forgot to breathe, plus he was still high on meds. His happiness increased when she hugged him. Right now he could’ve died happily. This was heaven on earth.  
  
        All Marinette could think about to comfort a crying person was a hug and if she was honest it didn’t feel that bad. “Please stop crying.”, she pleaded. Because if he kept on crying she was most likely to cry too.  
  
        But he couldn’t just stop. All the emotions he had build up over the years since his mother had left just wanted to run out of him at once. ‘I’m such an idiot.’, he thought, chuckled between the sobs and nuzzled his nose into her shoulder. ‘There is this chance of hugging your crush you only get once in a lifetime and I’m staining her suit with my tears and snort.’ He tiredly closed his eyes and just cried. Eventually he heard the last warning beep of his miraculous go off, before drifting off into a slight slumber.  
  
        Ladybug did not hear it as she was happy that the first step to comforting him was done. It hit her off guard when the boy in her arms was suddenly surrounded by a green light. ‘Oh no.’, she thought for the second time today. ‘Oh nonononono-double-no. Please don’t tell me he just transformed back.’  
  
        The black cat-like kwami that floated through the air at the height of her nose told her exactly that he **had** transformed back. She cursed using words that would make baby jesus cry salty tears and pressed the boy against her shoulder. She did not dare to look at him. What if he was someone she knew? It’s always been mutual decided that they would keep their civilian selves a secret. And now here she was, having the de-transformed Chat in her arms.  
  
        A familiar voice made her jerk. “There you are!”  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
        As Nino arrived at the battlefield the fight was already over.  “Alya!”, he yelled to his classmate dragging her towards him. Man, was he glad that she was okay. “You okay? What happened?”  
  
        His arm lay protective around her shoulders as she told him what had happened. She made clear to point out how ‘Chat was acting weird’ and that ‘the duo seemed strange today’. ‘You’d be acting weird too if you were fighting high.’, he thought bitterly. As soon as the tanned teen saw the guy in black leather he knew that something was wrong and that he needed to get his high best friend back to his home before he caused Ladybug or himself problems. But what do you do as a normal human when the person you’re trying to get is a superhero that could jump street lights while picking his nose?  
  
        At those times having a friend that obsessively runs a blog about them is really convenient. She told him that the duo usually hung out at Notre Dame. Giving her a quick excuse, Nino ran away to catch them in time. “I’m a good friend.”, he told himself while running up the stairs to the roof. “I am the best _fucking_ friend in the whole world.”  
  
        Nino slammed the top door open to find a familiar looking red suit. “There you are!”, he yelled happily and saw Ladybug jerk around to him. In her arms was Adrien sleeping. That’s when he realized, he was too late. “Uhm, I don’t want to interrupt you but” Nino nervously scratched his neck, “Okay, I really want to interrupt you two – I need to take him home, he’s hella sick.”  
  
        Internally screaming Marinette tried to comprehend what was going on. Wait. Why the hell did Nino show up? He knew who Chat was? Chat, that damn stupid kitten, told someone about his secret?  Did he knew about the self harm? But if Nino was about to take whoever was now in her arms away and she shut her eyes, their identities would stay a secret to both of them. “Yeah”, she finally reacted. “That’s good, Nino, can you take him? I actually gotta go really fast.”  
  
        She heard footsteps as the teen approached her. Propping the almost lifeless body up she closed her eyes and tried to blend out the blonde hair that fell into her peripheral view before she could close them. Nino noticed that the female hero didn’t open her eyes as she quickly put a distance between herself and her partner, but didn’t draw conclusion. He took his best friend and wondered how light he was. “Damn, Adrien have you been losing weight lately?”, the tanned teen muttered at his sleep drooling friend. “What does your father feed you? Nothing?”  
  
        Ladybug nearly fell off the roof. “Adrien?”, she repeated to herself and spun around. Did Nino just call Chat Adrien or was her brain playing foul tricks on her? Adrien couldn’t be Chat. They were two different characters. Marinette cursed herself for turning around. She did not want to know – or did she? However it was too late. She had already seen what shouldn’t be seen. Her partner’s identity and underwear. “Adrien?!”, she yelled in disbelief as her brain broke. “Why god, why – out of all people – did you choose Adrien Agreste?!”  
  
        Nino’s view switched from his best friend in his arms back to the superhero. “Oh, you didn’t know that?”  
  
        And there they were – back to step zero. But now she was the one fleeing from her partner.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino likes games and Mari starts to realize she does not know shit about her crush.

        _Flop._  
  
        Marinette collapsed on her bed, screaming into her pillow. Somehow this day broke her brain. Chat Noir, that flirting piece of trash with his stupid puns, was the perfect model Adrien Agreste. The boy she had a crush on for over three years now. The intelligent, talented, nice and rich boy that starred as main character in her wet dreams was also the boy that always had a cheesy flirt on the tip of his tongue. God, he had flirted with her. She felt her face turning bright red. Her body jerked up as another fact made her brain explode.  
  
        Sabine Dupain-Cheng who was currently in the living room made a worried sound when she heard her daughter – that should have been asleep by now –  hit the ground as if she fell out of the bed.  
  
        And that was exactly what happened. The bluenette was in a state between shocked and broken. Chat was a cutter. Chat was Adrien. That meant Adrien cut. “No way.”, she whispered. “That can’t be true.” Adrien has always been a happy person, she assumed. He had everything a boy her age could want; money, admirers, a blooming career and – she assumed – a loving family. Why out of all people would he feel the need to cause himself pain?  
  
        Marinette always thought she knew all of the young Agreste – from his shooting pictures down to his daily schedule but she had been wrong. Blue eyes wandered through her room and ended at the wall that was practically plastered with the blondes face, smiling and posing. Did he fake all of this? Did he lie to all of them when he said that he was okay? She never considered him to be a liar. He’d always been the bright, innocent person in her vision. But wasn’t she a liar as well. After all both of them shared a secret they kept to themselves.  
  
        She gulped as she stood up and started removing his pictures from her wall. Feeling like she didn’t deserve the right to say that she knew him, Marinette decided to remove the proof of her previous foolishness. She felt how her crush was crushed. “And I thought I knew him like nobody else.”, she whispered as she deleted her backgroundpicture.  She gave one lingering look to the bin full of pictures of Adrien. “But I still want to help you.”  
  
         Tikki flew around Marinette’s head. She’d been silent since they found out what the chosen one of Plagg had been doing to himself. The kwami knew that Plagg was different from her. She wanted to befriend her Ladybug. Plagg only chose the ones that would offer him the best options of food. She honestly hated that trait of the dark kwami. If she had chosen Adrien she wouldn’t have let him do that. She wanted to punch the kwami she hadn’t seen so long; after all this was the first time since three hundred years that Chat Noir and Ladybug lived at the same time. “You can still help him, you know?”, Tikki mentioned to her friend. “Now that you know his identity, you have all options to come close to him, to befriend him and to help him. As Ladybug as well as Marinette.”  
  
        “Don’t be silly.”, Marinette muttered flopping on the bed again. “I can’t even form a sentence when he’s around. How the hell should I comfort him as Marinette?” She gave out a loud sigh. “But maybe you’re right. Now that I know who he is watching over him will be easier.”  
  
         “Like a suicide watch?”, Tikki asked confused.  
  
         “Call it whatever you want.” Marinette thought about his hurt look when she said they couldn’t patrol together. _Chat’s_ hurt look. He looked like he’d lost everything he had lived for and at that time it almost killed her to see him hurt. She clenched a fist above her heart. She’d always somehow liked Chat – as a partner and as a friend. During fight they communicated without words, god, he even flirted with her without using his goddamn mouth. In the depth of her chest she wasn’t all against it. “I still can’t believe Adrien is Chat Noir.” She blushed again. “How should I act towards him?”  
  
“Like Alya said: Act like you always do.” Tikki mimicked the weird faces Marinette used to make as soon as Adrien stepped into her field of view.  
  
Marinette huffed. “I don’t look like that!”, she protested. “But speaking of Alya, I think I need to call her. Sometimes I need advice from qualified persons!”  
  
  
___________  
  
  
         “Long story, Mom!”, Nino explained to his mother who shot him a suspicious glare. There he was, carrying his best friend piggyback up the stairs in the middle of the night. Not to mention that Adrien was passed out, blood stained and in still in his underwear. “He’s staying the night.”, he informed before disappearing in his room. There he laid down Adrien in his bed where the catlike boy curled up. And started purring. “Dude, you really are a cat.”, he muttered before starting to throw cheese at the kwami that flew over his computer screen.  
  
        At first Nino considered going to sleep too but that would mean he had to crouch in the little space next to Adrien. Considering his experiences with sleeping cats, Nino thought that pulling an all-nighter didn’t sound that bad at all. He put on his headphones, let the kwami enjoy the cheese and started his favorite videogame. His back turned towards the bed.  
  
        He’s imagined he would’ve been more shocked by finding out that Adrien was Chat Noir. Now that he knew it was so dead obvious. Every time an akuma attacked Adrien disappeared from the scene but could repeat every single part of the fight afterwards. Always with the same lame excuse that he’d been a victim of the akuma. Just like – _... Marinette_?!  
  
       “Oh no.”, he mumbled. “That’s not possible. No way in hell.”  
  
       Didn’t Ladybug have blue hair and pigtails just like Marinette? And Ladybugs eyecolor? Wasn’t it the same as  Marinette’s? He recalled every memory he had of Marinette. There was no way that the shy and clumsy Marinette was the confident hero of Paris. But on the other hand, didn’t he used to think the same about Adrien being Chat Noir. “That’s way too high for me.”, Nino sighed and popped up his messenger that had been blinking for twenty minutes now. The chat with Marinette and Alya showed a little camera icon, indicating that the girls were using this group chat for their video chatting again. Nino gave another look to Adrien to be sure that he’s asleep before he decided to join the girls. He had a night to survive after all.  
  
       Marinette’s face filled her window and so did Alya’s. Nino was hundred percent sure that they were using their phones for face timing. Through his headphones he could hear Marinette’s shrieks being overtoned by Alya’s hello. Alya seemed to be in the middle of recalling the akuma attack.  
  
        [Sorry, can’t talk], he typed fast. [Adrien’s sleeping in my bed. He had a rough day. Don’t want to wake him up :/]  
  
        “Oh, no problem. We’ll do the talking. – By he way I never though Adrien would wear boxers with little cat faces on them.”, Alya grinned at the screen. Damn, that girl had a good vision even if his camera only catched a bit of the sleeping Adrien. Before Alya continued Nino shifted in his seat to hide his best friend behind him. “So Mari, tell us how your date went! You said you’d be meeting _him_ again today!”  
  
       Nino giggled as Marinette’s phone fell down showing the ceiling and a few streaks of dark blue hair. Even if this wasn’t really Ladybug-like the boy knew it was her. First her shriek, now freaking out on the phone. Marinette had a crush on Adrien. Adrien had a crush on Ladybug. That would explain so much. “That could become a funny game.”, he mumbled under his breath as his brain made a brilliant plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post as much as I can on the weekends because I can't work under the week cuz of work and school.   
> Plus I changed a few tags because there will be Ladrien in it (as this ship isn't really popular). 
> 
> I'm really happy that you guys enjoy this fic even if the theme isn't really something you should enjoy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe a bit of a filler and Nino being the best bud.

       Green eyes flattered open as a timer disturbed his sleep. Even though the beeping sound strangely reminded him of the sound his miraculous used to make the blonde teen felt really comfortable. As if he travelled back into the times where his mother was still there. Back to the times when his family was okay and he grew up surrounded with loving. Adrien tried to snuggle deeper into the white covers as he recognized something weird. He did not have white blankets. His usually were black or dark colored. And the room did not look like his room at all.  
  
        “Dude, you’re even purring in your sleep!” Nino let himself fall next to him on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head. “I’m not gonna call you a cat but – actually I really want to call you a cat.”  
  
       The bananablonde boy shot up. He recognized his best friend’s room. Why was he there? The last thing he remembered was cleaning up the mess on his stomach. “Nino, why am I - ...?”, he stuttered. “Wait, did you just call me a cat?” Oh god, what had happened? His heart fell down into his guts when Plagg flew besides his best friends head and started giggling.  
  
        “Yep, he did call you a cat.”, the kwami confirmed, exchanging nods with Nino.  
  
       The evening before Marinette’s brain broke now it was Adrien’s turn. His always stern expression mirrored his confusion. Why wasn’t Nino freaking out? Why were they looking almost comfortable around each other? “What happened?”, the blonde tried to collect himself.  
  
       “Should we tell him?” Nino gave a questioning look to the kwami before laughing. “Yesterday you fell off my roof – well, basically Chat Noir fell off my roof – and you transformed back in my garden barely dressed. You were totally high on painkillers. Dude, I’m happy my mom didn’t see you transform.” Nino commented Adrien’s panic attack with a chuckle. “Chill, I’m not mad. You collapsed in my bed and rushed away as soon as I told you Ladybug’s in trouble. That demon-thingy beat you up pretty bad, but you saved her and she whispered something to you before both of you rushed off. I – well, call me the best fucking friend ever – followed you up to Notre Dame, picked you up and brought you here.” Pushing back his headphones Nino started shifting uncomfortably in his position telling Adrien that the worst part of the story had yet to come.  
  
        The blonde had a lot to comprehend but still he sighed. “What?”, he asked. Most likely he would’ve fucked something up again. “What else did I do?”  
  
        “I’m not sure if you wanna hear that.”, Nino considered. “It involves Ladybug and after what I heard you mumble tonight you really don’t need to know that. You already look like shit.”  
  
        Adrien leaned forward digging his nails in his leg. Had he hurt her? “Nino, please.”, Adrien pleaded. “I need to know.”  
  
       Nino started to wonder why his best friend had a hurt look on his face. Did he got hurt more than he’d seen the day before. Then he got it – Marinette said she met the boy who cut. Marinette’s secret identity was Ladybug. Her partner was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien and that meant. “Oh my god.”, Nino mumbled in shock.  
  
       Plagg took over the open part to talk. “Ladybug knows who you are.”  
  
       Nino shot him a glare as Adrien fell in utter panic. “So much to being sensitive.”  
  
       “You’re welcome.”  
  
       Adrien lived through a mayor panic attack. His eyes went wide, his breathing changed rapidly and he felt like he was going to throw up any moment. The thought of wanting to die crossed his head but got abandoned because of Nino’s presence, who tried to comfort him best as possible, while all the memories came back to his head.  Ladybug had offered to help him and he had cried. He had shown weakness! She now knew his secret!  
  
        “Dude, stop that!”, Nino freaked out pulling Adrien’s hands away that had been scratching the skin of his thigh almost raw.  
  
       Adrien mindlessly slapped his hands away, covering his stomach. “I need that!”, he hissed at his best friend before realizing what he had done. Instinctively he hid his face in the pillow, curling up to a miserable ball of human flesh. “I-I’m so sorry....—I didn’t mean to...”   
  
       Nino placed a hand on his best friends back to calm him. “It’s okay, dude.”, he tried to comfort him as best as possible. Drawing small circles on his best friends back. He wouldn’t talk about the cutting, that wasn’t his part, Nino remarked in the back of his head. “I’m sure Ladybug understands.”  
  
       Adrien gave a groan and a sound that usually scared kittens make. “She hates me.”, he whined, small sobs escaping him. “She know I – and who I....”, his voice broke.  
  
        “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t hate you.”, Nino said.. “Judging from the way she looked at you yesterday, she was shitass worried about you.”  
  
       Adrien shifted a bit so he could face his best friend. Tears in his green eyes running down into Nino’s pillow. He’d never been this scared in his whole life. He could never ever face Ladybug again. His fingers under his shirt stroking over the scars. As weird as it was but it calmed him.  
  
        Nino knew Adrien had a crush on that red woman from the first day her name had been said. Now that he knew his secret, he started to think that this crush might even be more than that. Although he’d always assumed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were a thing. “Dude, you really like her, hn?”  
  
       With a small almost unnoticeable nod Adrien hid his head in the pillow again. “Doesn’t matter.”, he gave a resigned sigh. “She does not like me back. Already has a prince she’s chasing after.”  
  
        “Oh.”, Nino drew back. That sounded logical. Nino fought the urge to laugh at the weird situation. Marinette had a crush on Adrien, but Adrien would never respond his feelings because he had a crush on Ladybug. As Chat Noir he flirted with Ladybug who rejects him because she is Marinette and Adrien rejects Marinette because he had a thing for Ladybug. As much as he wanted to scream that said “prince” was Adrien he didn’t say a word and just got back to the backrubs. Even though to him the situation was as clear as water  Adrien did not see everything – rejected love hurts. “Everything will be okay, dude.”, he said not quite sure if he was telling that to Adrien or to himself. He picked up his phone to and sent a quick text to Alya and Marinette that he was about to take the day off to pamper Adrien. “Everything will be okay.”  
  
_______________  
  
  
       The teachers voice was dull and emotionless causing most of the students trouble to stay awake. Marinette hated mathematics since they started putting letters in it. She could count one and one together but how in the world does a²+b² equal c²? Her eyes met the empty place in front of her. Adrien would’ve known the answer; he was the smart guy after all.  
  
        “Miss Cheng, I am very sure that the answer to our problem isn’t on Mr. Agreste’s desk.”  
  
       A small sigh escaped her lips as her head met the table and her blushing head planned her talk to Adrien this evening. She’d promised him, that she would help him and she kept her promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sneak peek to next chapter: “You guys need something? [...] Perhaps a drink, snacks – a condom?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IN WHICH ADRIEN FINALLY GETS FOOD! FEED THAT BOY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, something fucked up the space between the last paragraphs.

        “Amazing!”  
  
       Adrien’s face lightened and Nino wasn’t quite sure if the taste of his mother’s food made him shine or something else. By the way his best friend stuffed his face and ate with every hole in his head friendly pointed to the first version. “I know, my mom’s food is pretty good!”  
  
        “Understatement of the year! Not only that!”, the well behaved boy swallowed before he spoke. “She didn’t even taunt you for skipping school!” Nathalie would’ve given him the lesson of his life in charge of his father for skipping important “education”.  
  
         “Please, try not to eat the plate.”, Nino laughed and leaned back on his bed. He checked out the skinny boy and furrowed his brows. “Dude, how much do you weight?”  
  
        Adrien froze. He hadn’t had appetite in the last months and he noticeably lost weight. Not that someone in the model business bothered though – the skinnier the better. “Dunno.”  
  
        A few minutes later a gasp filled the air. Shortly after that a yelling Nino could be seen, followed by a babbling Adrien. “I’m calling child protective services!”, Nino bellowed. “Do you know how unhealthy that is with your height?” The tanned boy reached for his phone while Adrien tried to calm him down, fearing that Nino would do what he said he’d do. “Mother!”, he whined into his phone as the other part picked up the unintended video chat. “Our son is so skinny! They don’t feed him enough!”  
  
         “Who’s your son?!” Adrien crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted! For a moment he considered tackling down his best friend but not with others being on the phone.  
  
        Reaching over Nino’s shoulder Adrien could see Alya looking fakingly shocked. “He’s just skin and bones!”, Nino continued, suddenly holding the camera to face Adrien’s body. “He weighs less than Marinette!”  
  
        Said bluenette gave a squeak – at the sight of Adrien’s boxershorts – in the background of the chat. “Why is it always me?”, they heard her mumble while she covered her face in her hands.  
  
        The blonde never considered himself body shy even though he cut but that was way too much. An angry glare later Nino’s face what all that could be seen on the girl’s side.  
  
         “How’r yah feeling, kitty shorts?”, Alya teased with a smug grin.  
  
  
  
________________  
  
  
  
       “Plagg, you can’t eat so much cheese!”, Adrien said an hour later. “You’re gonna get fat!”  
  
       “The stomach wants what the stomach wants!”  
  
        “Aww.” Nino leaned back and put away the controller. “It’s no fun playing against you.”, Nino muttered. “You’re practically a pro!”  
  
        For the whole play Adrien had forgotten all of his problems. He was happy. “I heard that Marinette is pretty good too.”, Adrien remembered and navigated the video character over a river. “And that Alya rocks at dance competitions.”  
  
         Yeah, they were in fact really good. Nino couldn’t help but smile. “So, dude, what do you think about them?”, he asked wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
        Adrien’s smile got sad. “I think that they’re nice.”, his eyes went dull remembering Marinette running away. “But I don’t think they like me.”  
  
         “Dude, they’re your friends!”, Nino argued punching his best friends shoulder. “Why shouldn’t they like you?”  
  
        Adrien’s eyes told more than one story when he looked at his friend in confusion. “You’re my only friend.”, he explained. “Everytime I try to speak to Alya she excuses herself by pushing Marinette forward. And Marinette ... – She does certainly not like me. She doesn’t talk to me and runs away as soon as she can.”  
  
        It took a moment for Nino to understand what he meant. Suddenly he started laughing. “Dude, you’re so blind.”, he laughed. “She’s running away for other reasons but lemme just tell you – She does most certainly **not** hate you!”  
  
        As much as Adrien wanted to believe that, he couldn’t. That little voice in his head told him that nobody would ever like him. Sometimes it even doubted Nino’s affection towards him. Adrien gave a loud sigh and put on his fake smile. “You’re so lucky to have friends like them. I think Alya really likes you.”  
  
         Nino blushed slightly. “You’ll get lucky and get your girl too!”  
  
         “Hah, you forget that I am literally the representation of bad luck, huh?”, Adrien laughed sarcastically, punching his best friends shoulder with his ring hand. A tapping sound caught his attention and he looked up to the window. Adrien gave a girlish scream when he saw who was hanging upside down in front of Nino’s window. “ LADYBUG?!”  
  
  
  
___________________  
  
  
  
       As soon as the last class was over, Marinette had stormed outside, leaving Alya with a poor excuse for her absence. She just couldn’t concentrate on school when her head went through several situations that could happen in the future. Most of them included her acting like Marinette around Adrien when she was transformed. What if she started stuttering or even worse – running away? That, she was certain, would just hurt him more.

 

       What if he started to question who she was without her mask? It would just be fair. But if she told him, he would be disappointed – after all she’s just Marinette, the stupid, clumsy mess that couldn’t speak more than one word in his presence. Nope, she just wasn’t ready to tell him, but that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to help him. Even though her crush on him rapidly fell after the reveal she still couldn’t imagine that her body would act somehow different being exposed to Adrien.

 

       Originally the bluenette had planned to go home but now she found herself near Nino’s neighborhood. She gave a loud sigh and leaned her forehead against a street lamp.

 

        “The heart wants what the heart wants!”, Tikki giggled in her purse before she catched Marinette’s angry glare. The Kwami hid behind a bandage that was still her purse. She’d totally forgot to give back the stuff she had stolen.

 

        “There’s no helping.”, Marinette gave up. One day she had to talk to Adrien again. If not as Marinette then as Ladybug.  “Might as well visit him right now.”

 

       Now she was there. Hanging upside down in front of Nino’s window. She blushed as she realized that both boys weren’t really wearing clothes. Probably just the ones they wore for sleep, at least in Nino’s case. She felt like a peeping tom. She heard Tikki giggle in her head. “Shut up! I haven’t really thought that through.”

 

       A gulp later her gloved hand reached out to the glass as she tipped silently against it. Marinette quite hadn’t expected Adrien to be able to scream like that. “Open the window”, she formed with her mouth suddenly realizing that she had no idea what she wanted to say. As often she had acted before her brain could comprehend it. At least she had developed the habit of finding quick excuses. She waved a bandage around indicating that she came to patch up the blonde. “Please?”

 

       A moment later she elegantly swung herself through the newly opened entrance. She did recognize Adrien crawling as far away as he could. ‘Please don’t stutter, please don’t stutter!’, she pleaded as her lips parted. “Hey there.” She scratched her nose and avoided looking at the lower half of her ex-crush.

 

        “I should really start cleaning my room on a regular basis if that means I’m getting female visitors.”, Nino grinned smugly, crossing his arms.

 

       The Ladybug placed a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. So ‘Chat Noir’ was contagious. Making her way over to Adrien she gripped the bandage tight. “I’m here to check up on my partner.” She crouched down before him and had to hide a chuckle when Adrien’s face went bright red. Her hand reached out trying to inspect the wound on his head. “You’ve been injured yesterday. How’s it going?”, she asked tilting her head just to receive a stutter. Seeing that he won’t answer, she stood up, going backwards until her back hit the window to give him some space. “What’s wrong, kitty cat? Swallowed your tongue?”

 

       A black cat like creature flew up to the girl, sniffing her before bursting out into laughter. “So, you’re Tikki’s chosen?” The kwami floated in the air holding his tiny belly. “That’s just hilarious!”

 

       Nino’s eyes followed the superhero, wondering how different his classmate was when she was wearing nothing more than a body suit and a mask. She seemed to be more confident even around Adrien. “He’s perfectly fine.”, he answered with a smile. “Maybe a little bit shocked but all in all he should be okay.”

 

       Turning to each other Nino and Ladybug didn’t see Adrien transforming. Not that he wanted to show off but Adrien felt highly uncomfortable with his choice of clothing. Marinette just catched the last sparkle of green around him. Being Chat was 100% more comfortable plus he felt like his confidence level rose over 9000.

 

        “To me he looks _cat_ -astrophic.”, Marinette snarled before clasping a hand in front of her mouth. She wanted to hit her face against the wall repeatedly.

 

        “You’re so charming, my lady!” The black suited hero bowed down and shot her one of his best grins.

 

       Both heroes just stared at each other. Well, actually the red lady rolled her eyes at chat Noir being his old flirting self. “I can’t believe I just made a cat pun just to get rid of your shyness, kitty.”, the girl muttered.

 

        “You guys need something?”, Nino butted in and reminded them that they were not alone. “Perhaps a drink, snacks – a condom?”, he snickered causing both heroes to blush.

 

        “That’s it.” Ladybug cut the line obviously upset. “I’m out. Seems like both of you are more than okay.” She threw her yoyo outside and disappeared over the rooftops of Paris.

       Nino raised an eyebrow at his best friend. “Cat puns, dude, seriously?”  
  
       Adrien answered with a sheepish grin but kept his green eyes on the small red dot that could be seen hiding behind a chimney. His lady waited for him. “Sorry Nino, gotta go home for Chinese lessons. See yah~”, he yelled while he was already out of the window.  
  
       Nino leaned back and sighed. “Kids these days grow up so fast.”, he said and fished for his phone. Maybe it was time to call Alya to ask for what he’d missed at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have like one billion ideas for scenes but they won't fit in this fic. They would only make it too long. Maybe I make a seperate work just for the scenes that didn't quite make it into this fic. But I wanted to ask you guys something. You okay with smut in this one or better in a seperate work?   
> (Not sure if the fic will really end in smut but hey, I think through option I have.)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving you a fluffy chapter before skinny-dipping the dark stuff again.

       As soon as he had leaped through the window, the red spot seemed to flee. But he wouldn’t be Chat Noir if he didn’t enjoy a good game of cat and mouse. For once he had forgotten about everything that happened the night before. With a grin he chased after her. But the chase ended surprisingly at his house – the Agreste Mansion. Suddenly every fear came back and he balled his fists. “L-Ladybug?” Was she mad about that Nino knew? “I swear I never told Nino! I was sick and he found out yesterday! Please don’t be mad!”  
  
       Ladybug appeared so suddenly on the chimney right behind him, that he had had to push a hand to his chest in shock. “You let your guard down, Adrien.”, she taunted with a soft smile and placed a hand on his shoulder before he had time to turn around. When his face met hers she gently brushed his bangs away and exposed the small wound on his forehead. Without a word she began to bandage it.  
  
       “So you really know me?” He asked even though he knew that there was no need to ask this.   
  
       “Everybody knows Adrien Agreste.” Her heart was beating like a drum while she tried to keep cool. “Without giving too much away, we know each other outside of this. Well, at least I thought I know you.” She looked away from him, biting her lip. “To be honest, I had a huge crush on the Adrien I thought I knew. Even now I know half of your daily schedule.”  
  
       The blonde stiffened under her touch. His green eyes were wide in shock. Did that girl plan on giving him a heart attack? “You _like_  me?”, he repeated. “But that means I and you ... we could be...”, he stuttered. His feelings weren’t one sided? That means they could be together.  
  
       Marinette bit her lip again, softly gripping his hands that had risen. She lead them down and looked him deep in the eye before slightly shaking her head. “Please don’t be sad, but I had a crush on the you I _thought_ I knew and I still have that crush but it would be unfair to both of us if I said that I have a crush on the you i know _now_. Plus I don’t think you’d like the me behind the mask. Do you understand what I want to say?” Years of practice showed the bluenette that his thoughts went into the wrong direction. That he thought, she hated him. “I really want to know the real you. That’s why I ask you to just start off as friends. Is that okay with you?”  
  
       Once again tears had made their way into his eyes but this time he grinned. Biting his lip to hold back the tears Adrien gave a nod which made his bell jingle.   
  
       Marinette mustered him before finally asking the question that stuck to her throat for hours. “May I ask you one question?”   
  
       He nodded. “Everything, my lady!”  
  
        “Why do you do that?” Her gloved finger pointed to his stomach. “You don’t need to answer that, it’s just – I can’t understand _why_ someone would do that.”  
  
       A gloomy expression covered his face. That wasn’t Chat Noir in front of her. That was the real Adrien Agreste in a costume. “When I grew up, my father had a lot of expectations. I started learning Chinese, various instruments, started to model. I had to be the perfect child to show up in front of the press. I wasn’t allowed to go to school with other kids – I never had friends. My mom was my only friend and she left us. After that my father became – _different_. Even harder. He decides what I eat, what I wear on shootings, how I have to appear, what I have to learn, how my future should look...” He rubbed his upper arms, looking to the ground. “I guess cutting gives me some kind of control over my life. It calms me down. That and being Chat Noir are the only things that give me _freedom_.”, he explained. “And it’s not like anyone would care if I’m happy or hurting – well maybe Nino and you, my lady.”  
  
       Her mouth opened and closed again. She gasped for air and her eyes started to tear. Not only what he said made her sad but also the way his voice sounded. ‘He feels worthless?’, she concluded. And then she hugged him, sliding her arms around his neck, one hand in his hair. It wasn’t a romantic hug; it was more of a desperate hug to show each other how much they cared. She felt tears soaking through the fabric of her suit. Hiccups filled the air. “You’re worth so much more than you think.”, she whispered into his shoulder while she allowed her tears to fall too. “We’re gonna get you better, okay?”, Marinette whispered after a while. “Together; as _paw_ -tners.”  
  
       A snort escaped his crying. He drew back and leaned his forehead against hers. “That would be _claw_ -some.” Oh how he loved the way she rolled her eyes at him. A blush decorated his face as he realized she’d gone back to holding his hands.   
  
        “And now let me bandage your stomach.”, Ladybug demanded, gently shoving him off. “If you don’t patch it up, your clothes will rub the scab off. And if it’s already infected they’ll never heal.”  
  
       He hesitated. Adrien had always dreamed of getting stripped by his lady but in a different way. His fingers clutched the seam of his shirt. “Could you – uhm – probably close your eyes?”  
  
       She followed his request and shut her eyes. “You’ll need to lead my hands.”  
  
       Adrien had never been this nervous. Fear combined with the excitement of being near your crush made his stomach turn. Have her wrists always been that small? “Haven’t you been injured too?”, he asked as she tucked the last part of the bandage under the rest to fix it. He pulled down his shirt and then reached out to touch the back of her head. The blue eyes still shut.   
  
       “It’s nothing.”, Marinette answered overacting the pain that shot through her as he found the spot. “I just bumped my head.”   
  
       “My lady”, Chat’s voice sounded husky. His eyes met hers. “I know best that this is a lie. Please, if you’re hurt, I can do my best to help you.”  
  
       “I know.”, she answered guilty just before her miraculous decided to beep for the first time. “I guess, my time is almost up, chaton.” Marinette drew back, fidgeting her purse before she got out a small piece of paper and a pen. “This –”, she said while writing, “is my number.”  
  
       Adrien looked at the piece of paper in his hands, amazed by how messy her handwriting was. “You number?”, he repeated.  
  
        “Yep.”, she shot him a smile and climbed the chimney again. “Text or call me if you need me. I can’t promise that I am able to come right away, but we can keep in contact if you need someone to talk.” Another beep indicating the last three minutes left. “And please do so if you ever feel bad again.” Reaching out her fist she waited for his to meet hers. He acted after a second. “See you tomorrow.”, she smiled and yoyo-ed away.  
  
        “Tomorrow.”, he repeated holding the number as if his life depended on it. “Tomorrow.” That was a promise, right? A promise that she’d come back. Back to him. Even though she knew.  The cat climbed down, silently opening his window and sliding in. Inside he lay off the transformation and fell to his bed; still smiling like an idiot. For the first time in ages he didn’t feel like cutting.   
  
  
____________________  
  


       Marinette landed face forward in her bed and started groaning. “What did I just do-hoo?”, she whined.  
  
        “I guess, you just gave your ex-or-not-crush your number, Mari.“, Tikki commented the steadily vibration of Marinette’s phone.   
  
        Said bluenette fished for her phone and showed a red face. “He was so close to me.”, she said breathless. “I thought I was going to die!” Another groan escaped her lips before she went to checking her messages. A few missed ones from Alya and some from an unknown number.  
  
**[Hey LB! It’s me! *Cat emoji*]  
[Uhm, I mean Adrien.]  
[Is this the right number?]**  
  
       Marinette giggled at her phone and saved the contact under “silly cat”.   
[Why would I give you a wrong number, silly?]  
  
       The answer was almost immediately.   
**[Maybe you were just** _kitten me_!]  
  
       Marinette rolled her eyes. She couldn’t quite get over the fact that the nice, cute Adrien is her pun-loving cat.   
[One more pun and I’m going to PUN-ch you, chaton!]


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I did it again.

       In the next week her phone became Marinette’s most precious treasure even though she had to admit that she had a small problem with phones. She was constantly texting with the sweet blonde and meeting his alter ego at night for strolls over Paris’s rooftops. Most people would expect a young girl and boy who meet on a daily basis to develop a romantic relationship but theirs was nothing more than a deep friendship. He didn’t tell her much about his reasons but they were there for each other.   
  
  
       _“When will you show me who you are?”,_ he had asked Ladybug one evening when they were sitting on Notre Dame. _“Are you afraid, I won’t like you?”_  
  
  
       And yes, she was afraid. Marinette looked at herself in the mirror as she was changing. She loved her body, but it was imperfect. She had scars from various fights and a few freckles on her way too bubbly cheek. She cursed puberty for giving other girls like Alya curves in the right places but leaving her with a bit of baby fat, a babyface and breasts that were slightly different in form and size.  Not to mention her nails looked like she chewed half of them off. “You wouldn’t like this.”, she mumbled and poked her stomach. Adrien was used to model with female models that resembled dolls. Perfect proportions. Perfect faces. Perfect skin. And she was just Marinette – stupid, clumsy, “falls-over-her-own-feet” Marinette.  
  
  
       _“I’ll tell you – just not now.”,_ she had said and ruffled his hair. _“If you’re better; I promise, kitty cat.”  
_  
  
       “It’d just crush all your expectations if you knew who I am.”, she mumbled before putting on her pajama. Somehow she felt alone. Her parents had called that they were staying away for a bit longer. They were visiting Sabine’s sister in China who fell sick. Marinette didn’t know her and since she had school she encouraged her parents to just go without her. She said that she could handle the important orders in the bakery and was old enough to keep an eye on the house. Right now she was regretting this decision. She needed her mother’s advice on more than one thing.  
  
  
__________________  
  
  
       The days spent with his lady helped Adrien very much. Although he occasionally gave in to the urge that built up in his stomach. Being happy was one thing but he had short periods of time where he felt like the world was crushing him – or worse, feeling nothing at all.  
  
       It’s been a rough day on him. After school Adrien had been dragged to two photo shootings. The first one was a shoot for his father’s new collection. It’s been just him, striking poses to please the photographer. Adrien didn’t mind shoots where it was just him as a model. The second one featured various female models, all cuddling around him; putting his hands on their body as if they knew each other for years. Acting around normal is difficult when you’re feeling uncomfortable. And it’s a death shot when one of the models switches place with Chloe.   
  
       Dirty. He felt dirty and used. Chloe had no feeling for privacy when it came to Adrien.  
  
       The blonde felt the urge to vomit remembering the way she had touched his stomach as if they were a couple. Even Ladybug wasn’t allowed to touch this very private area of his. Other than Chloe Ladybug respected this.  Adrien ripped off the pin off a poster from his wall and started dragging the sharp tip over the place where the platinblonde had touched him. If he scratched off those places it would be like no one had ever touched him.   
  
       Suddenly he remembered the comments that came up on the ladybug after their last akuma fight where he’d been high. They were – not too nice. As a model he had to deal with haters but voices could be blend out. Comments on the other hand were there and forced you to read them over and over again. Let’s just say, the thought of them didn’t quite help his current state of emotion.  
  
       _Thud._  
  
       His fingers peeled the skin that stood off. It soon began to bleed. Not heavy but constantly.  The liquid covered his fingers. The opened window welcomed the summer breeze that cooled his hot skin. Adrien licked his lips in anticipation before leading his red fingers to his mouth, giving his hand tiny kitten licks. An iron taste made his head dizzy. He wanted more.   
  
       A sigh drew his attention to the window.   
  
       There she was. His lady. His fingers still in his mouth he jerked up. How long had she been there? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME I MADE A HUGE MISTAKE IN THIS FIC?   
> When Marinette realized that Adrien is cutting I said that Sabine heard her daughter falling off the bed but I think only a few paragraphs before this I said that they were out of town for a week. Why didn't you tell me? D:  
> I'm such a shame.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think that's what you guys call "fluff".

       Marinette felt like she caught him in a very, very private moment. The decision to visit him came to her mind when she saw posts of Chloe on her facebook wall – posing with a very uncomfortable Adrien. The worst part – her hands were on his stomach. Marinette had felt a twisting feeling in her guts as she saw this. She knew what lay underneath. He didn’t answer her messages afterward and she concluded that this day had been too much for him. So she decided to spare him a visit at home.  
  
       Marinette had never been inside the Agreste’s Mansion except that one time Nino got akumatized and threw a party for Adrien. She’d assumed that it was some kind of boundary not to go into his room. And right now she broke this boundary, sat on his windowsill, watching him licking red stuff off his hand.  
  
       With a gasp she realized that the liquid was blood and somehow she wished she’d just caught him masturbating. That would be way easier on her nerves.  
  
       She instantly knew it must’ve been because of Chloe. Chloe was the reason for everyone’s suffering. Someone should just fly her to an abandoned island and leave her alone to rot. ‘Focus, Mari!’, she taunted herself and looked to Adrien who finally noticed her.  
  
       “I-It’s not wha-at it looks like!”, he stammered wiping off the blood in his shirt before standing up. But it was exactly what it looked like.  
  
       Marinette sighed. What did she think? That he would stop this behavior – he had for years now – over night?  But she wouldn’t lecture him as he was already broken enough. “It’s because of Chloe, right?”, she asked and read the answer in his eyes. The bluenette brought her gloved hand to his hair and softly scratched his scalp.  
  
        “I’m not mad.” Not that Marinette hated Chloe but – she wouldn’t mind if the Barbie just disappeared forever.  
  
       Oh dear lord, he was so ashamed. What do you do in this kind of situation? Why couldn’t he grip a thought when her hand was in his hair? Something deep within his chest swelled up and escaped in a purr. Half dizzy and half shocked he clasped a hand in front of his mouth.  
  
       Marinette chuckled. “How about we sit down, kitty cat?”  
  
       He gave a nod, not able to look at her without blushing. Oh how he wished he could transform.  
  
       The red lady seemed to be able to sense what he wanted. “If you’re uncomfortable talking to me like this, go ahead.”, she encouraged him and sat down at the side of his bed. “Transform.”  
  
       And so Adrien changed into his alter ego within the sparks of green light. She patted the place beside her and he grinned instinctively. “I’ve always dreamed to be in the same bed as you, my lady.”, the cat teased and started seductively rolling around in the sheets.  
  
       The bluenette rolled her eyes letting out a snicker before her eyes wandered through the room. It was separated in two levels. The upper level was full of books, CDs and probably DVDs. The The other level contained the bed, a big TV and a couch in the center of the room. Near the walls were dozens of arcade games. A computer and a laptop could be found on the window side of the room and on the opposite two doors. One probably leading to the corridors and the other one leading to the bathroom. All in all the room reflected the wealth of his family. “Your room is practically a theme park.”  
  
       Adrien let his arms and legs fall flat onto the bed. “Yeah, my dad likes to show off.”, he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he is planning to build a rollercoaster in our garden next.” He jerked up as he heard another chuckle. ‘Oh my god’, he thought as he got his mistake. His room was full of her face. Every picture from the Ladyblog was somewhere in her room. He had all the Ladybug merchandise, not to mention his laptop/pc background that glowed in the setting darkness of his room. His head resembled the color of her suit.  
  
       “You’re a bigger fan of mine than I thought.”, she mumbled more to herself. The thought that the boy she liked for so long and whose photos she had collected for more than three years had been doing the same with her alter ego made her smile.  
  
        “Who wouldn’t be a fan of a wonderful woman like you?”, he quickly covered up his embarrassment with a flirt.  
  
       Marinette rolled her eyes and let herself fall back on the bed too. “You’re such a flirt!”, she laughed and flicked his bell. He purred much to her surprise. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d enjoy belly rubs, too.’ Rolling her head to the side, she noticed the pictures on his nightstand. One showing their class on their latest class trip with two small pictures attached to the frame showing selfies of Adrien and Nino. The other frame featured Gabriel Agreste and a really sad looking Adrien. Next to that picture was one with a smiling young Adrien in the arms of a blonde woman with green eyes. Marinette didn’t realize that she had stretched out her arm towards the pictures.  
  
       “That’s my mom.”, Chat Noir explained with a gentle smile, reaching out and handing her the frame.  
  
        Marinette held the picture as if it could break any moment. “She’s stunningly beautiful.”  
  
        The cat snickered. “It runs in the genes!”, he announced with a cheeky grin before his masquerade fell once again. “It’s the last picture I have with her.”  
  
       “What happened to her?”, she asked and instantly wanted to hit herself. ‘Stupid question, Marinette.’  
  
       “I don’t really know – She left.”  
  
       A silence filled the air as Marinette gently placed the picture back to its old place. ‘So he doesn’t have a happy family.’, she thought and looked at him like he was a broken doll. ‘Wounds that we don’t usually talk about are the deepest ones, I guess.’ Soon she found herself stroking his head and scratching the place next to his fake ears; making him purr in response.  
  
       No, he wasn’t going to cry this time, he told himself. Quickly grabbing the class picture and sitting with his back against the wall, he encouraged her to do the same. “That’s my class.”, he announced proudly. “That’s Nino. He is my best friend. You’ve met him.” His behavior changed to bubbly as he began speaking about each and every one of them.  
  
       “Yeah, I know them.”, Marinette said with a gentle smile and nudged his shoulder. “Most of them got themselves akumatized thanks to a certain Barbie, you remember?”  
  
       “Oh, I forgot.” He looked down and blushed. How could he forget that fact? “Do you still go to school, Ladybug?”  
  
       Ah there they were – the questions about her. Much to her surprise she didn’t mind telling him certain things. “Yes, I am a student. We’re at the same school and I actually do know your class.”  
  
       His eyes began to sparkle over this precious kind of information. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her but he could read in her face that more questions would push her boundaries. So he got back to telling her about his classmates even if she already knew them. He even dared his confidence and re-transformed; just to test his ability to speak in front of her. If he talked about his classmates he didn’t have to stare at her. “That’s Alya. She’s the girl that runs the Ladyblog! Nino has a huge crush on her but don’t tell him you got it from me!” Adrien winked playfully. “And that’s her best friend Marinette.”  
  
       The Ladybug froze.  
  
        “She’s nice and our class representative.”, he continued. “But I think she doesn’t like me. She always runs away when I want to talk to her. Say, my Lady” He turned to her. ”Am I that annoying?”  
  
       On the inside Marinette was screaming. She had never imagined that her behavior sent those twisted signals. “No, kitty, you’re not annoying.”, she said trying to contain her cool look. Once again she ruffled his hair causing the blonde to blush. “And I’m pretty sure Marinette likes you. I know her – it’s just... She can’t think straight around handsome boys.” Marinette immediately regretted her words.  
  
       Adrien grinned. “You think I’m handsome?”, he teased.  
  
       Marinette flicked his forehead and her miraculous gave off the first beep. She clicked her tongue and jumped to her feet. “Guess my time is up, pretty boy.”  
  
       “Wait a second!” Adrien had problems crawling off the bed. His left food tangled up in his sheet and he landed on his face. “What does your kwami eat?”, he blurted out, scared that she could already be over the hills. His head resembled Nathanael’s hair. “Maybe I have that and next time you can stay longer!”  
  
       Marinette smiled gently as she climbed the windowsill. “ _Tikki_. Her name is Tikki and she loves cookies.”  
  
       Adrien cursed. “I’m not allowed to eat carbs so we don’t have cookies.”  
  
       Wow, Marinette didn’t believe she could hate Gabriel Agreste even more but there she was, balling her hands into fists. Another beep. She rubbed his hair one last time and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. “See you tomorrow.” She yoyo-ed away. “And I’ll bring the cookies.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on a cover for the upcoming chapters and wanted to share it with you.  
> [I'll probably re-draw it digitally anyway](http://anotherdemonexorcist.tumblr.com/post/138559816542)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Marinette tries to understand what Adrien is going through" aka "what, you really thought the worst part is over yet?"

       Hot. It was so hot. The sun shone like she wanted to make earth a living hell. The students hovered over their desks, sweating and barely able to pay attention in class. Marinette wondered if it was even worse for the blonde in front of her. He obviously was trying to hide the pain that being hovered brought with. Sweat and wounds don’t really get along well.  
  
       She’d been a regular visitor at the Agreste Mansion for three days now. Coming everyday at sunset and leaving at midnight. They played videogames, talked and sometimes Adrien didn’t even need to transform to have serious discussions with her. Turned out, that he liked her cookies. Not just liked, he loved them. Probably the only sweets he was able to get his hands on. Marinette made a mental note which ingredients she needed to buy after school for making more.  
  
       Marinette tried to seek contact with Adrien outside of the mask to show him that his assumptions were wrong. Having contact with him as Ladybug made Marinette more comfortable around him in school. “Adrien.”, she asked shortly before the lunch break and saw the blonde turn around with an unsure smile.  
  
        “Yes?”  
  
       “I don’t understand physics.”, Marinette admitted and scratched her chin. “Could you explain it to me?”  
  
       “Sure!” Adrien nodded and Nino shot her a thumb up. None of the teenagers knew why he did that.  
  
  
________________  
  
  
       Red was definitely her color, Marinette remarked as she mustered herself in front of the full body mirror. She never realized how tight fitting the suit was.  
  
        “Looks just like the real one.”, Tikki pointed out. “But your suit is missing gloves and socks.”  
  
       “Shut up!”, the bluenette hissed blushing. “I don’t know how to sew them and it’s not like I want to make a replica of mine.” Marinette sat down on her bed and cuddled a pillow. “It’s just so I don’t have to go every time I’m about to transform back.”  
  
       The kwami broke out into laughter. “You want to spend more time with him.”, she teased. “You still like him!”  
  
       Tikki was right and Marinette looked at the ground in guilt. She felt horrible to admit it, but ever since Chat Noir and Ladybug made the deal to befriend first, she found herself falling for him even harder than before. She enjoyed every touch of his hand, every fist bump after they defeated their enemy in a game and fighting akuma was even more synchronized than before. A horrible feeling crept in her guts when she had to admit that she was using her being Ladybug and his obvious crush on her for lovely embraces. She felt even worse when she thought about the fact that he liked Ladybug, not Marinette.  
  
        She felt so guilty for taking advantage of this that she couldn’t even face herself in the bathroom mirror. Tikki waited outside as Marinette left to shower – no offense to the small kwami, but even a kwami-chosen-relationship had its boundaries. Marinette wondered how far Adrien limited his privacy with Plagg. Did he shower with him? Did he allow Plagg to be present when he masturbated? Did Adrien Agreste masturbate –

 

        “God, Marinette, you’re friends!”, she had to remind herself while picking up the razor she had stolen from her father years ago. Blue leg hair just looked weird but her parents didn’t want her to shave, telling her she didn’t need to do that.

 

        “Friends.”, she mumbled while looking way too long on the sharp object in her hands.

 

        The word tasted bitter and made her abdomen feel weird. Theoretically she just needed to bend the plastic around the razorblade a teeny tiny bit and the metal would pop right out. Like really, it wasn’t even glued to anything. The plastic would just break.

 

        ”Friends”

 

        He had told her that he felt better after he did cut himself. She’d read about it, cutting is used as a distraction and made the brain send out several neurotransmitter making the cutter feel somehow high. Marinette stopped the hot water and turned the blade around in her hands. Tested its sharpness by poking her finger just once.  What was this feeling inside of her chest? Like she couldn’t breathe properly. Was that what Adrien was feeling all the time?

 

       She friendly placed the blade on the light skin of her right upper arm.

 

       “Just friends.”

 

       The first line was thin, almost not noticeable. For sure that only lasted until two small pearls of blood build in the middle and on the end. Marinette gasped surprised. It didn’t hurt. Not as much as she had expected. Like if you scratched too hard on a mosquito bite.

 

       The second one was parallel to the first one and managed to form six small pearls of blood. Marinette cursed. Wasn’t it supposed to make her feel better? The pain in her chest was still there. “Maybe if I do it just once again?”

 

       While drawing the blade across her arm a third time the pain kicked in. Some of the lotion in her hair had run down and met the fresh lines. This caused Marinette to defocus and to pull the blade down instead of making a parallel line. She cursed another time and inspected the chaos on her arm, noticing that a shirt and her typical blazer would still hide the cuts. A relieved sigh left her lips before she turned the water on once again.

 

      Marinette felt like her arm was on fire. The skin around the cuts red and swollen, especially the last one who was bleeding harder than the others. Marinette didn’t understand. It hurt. Why would Adrien do that if it hurt? Wasn’t it supposed to take all the pain away and make you feel better?

 

       Reality hit her like a brick in the face. She had cut. She had damaged her body just now. “Oh god.” She gasped for air rubbing cold water over the swelling. “Shit, fuck.” A series of curse words left her lips as she dried herself. Marinette felt like she was about to cry. What if Tikki saw it? Or worse Alya? The Ladyblogger would most definitely kill her for that.

 

        What if Adrien saw it? “Shit.”

 

        Marinette quickly jumped into her underwear and the selfmade Ladybug costume; being glad she had made the sleeves long. The hardest part of dressing up as her alter ego was getting the mask to stick to her face. As Ladybug nobody with human strength would be able to remove it but this was just dressing up. It took almost a bottle of skin friendly glue to get it on. Rushing out of the bathroom she grabbed two bags full of cookies and her purse.

 

“That was quite a long shower!”, the kwami remarked, nibbling on a chocolate cookie.

 

“Tikki, spots on.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff to make up for the last chapter.

       The look in the bathroom mirror was always the hardest thing to do after taking a bath. Adrien hated the boy that – he knew – would stare back at him with the look of pity and blame. Looking down he noticed that the big cut on his stomach now was almost sparkly clean; almost healed and pinkish.

 

       Adrien didn’t get it. Why were people so obsessed with his looks? Yeah, he had a pretty face, that was something he had to admit. But the rest was just plain disgusting to him. Way too skinny and only a few muscles in the places that got trained due to being a superhero at night. Not to mention the scars that covered the usually hidden places. He gave a loud sigh and pulled the black tank top with his trademark stripes over his head. His bottom half hidden under a pair of boxers. Ladybug would show up until in a few hours so formal clothes weren’t necessary.

 

       At least that’s what he thought. As he entered his room his eyes shot to the figure sitting on his bed. Ladybug. Absently playing with her yoyo she didn’t notice him. ‘She looks… sad.’

 

      Adrien cleared his throat to catch her attention and she jumped. She mustered his body and registered that he was basically naked. All blood in Marinette’s body rose to her head; adjusting her face to the color of her suit. “I-I’m so sorry; I’m too early.” Her hand gestured wildly as she approached the window. “I’ll go.”

 

      Adrien felt strangely reminded of Marinette by the way the superhero acted. “No.” His eyes searched hers. “It’s okay, you don’t need to go, Ladybug. I’ll just transform, okay?” The boy hectically searched for his kwami. But the small, black god was nowhere to be found. Probably stealing cheese from the kitchen again.

 

      ‘Shit.’, Adrien cursed. He felt his confidence level decrease rapidly. “Or I’ll just put on some pants!”, he suggested, rushing to his closet and grabbed the first sweatpants his hands could reach. Quickly hopping into them. Adrien desperately hoped that his Chat-itude would come without the suit but all he managed was a weird stammering. “What brought you here, m’lady?”

 

       Still shining bright like a tomato the heroine began biting her lip. “Nothing, I just didn’t watch the time.”, she lied blatantly. That was until Chat, no, Adrien grabbed her hand and forced her to look at him. She gave in. “I’m just not feeling well, Chat.” Her hand gave his a gentle squeeze. Marinette cursed her habit to call Adrien by her partner’s name everytime he acted like him out of convenience. “… wanted to see you…” Her mumble almost unnoticeable but what she said made him grin.

 

       He’d be lying if he would deny that her words didn’t make him proud of himself. But he noticed that she was looking for a distraction. Even though he’d never imagined he’d be able to act like this as Adrien, he managed to pull her into a friendly hug. “May I suggest a movie marathon until you feel better, my lady?”

 

      The superhero nodded burying her nose in his chest. Soon she came to her senses and gently nose-booped him away. “… brought cookies…”, she whispered nodding towards the brown paper bags on the bed.   
  
  
___________________  
  
  
       About half of an hour later Marinette sat on the – for Adrien’s standards – rather small couch. He had randomly picked out Blue rays because he had no idea what kind of movies he had. Meanwhile Ladybug had been busy carrying pillows from his bed to the couch.  “I’ve never had friends over and I don’t know what kind of movie that is but I hope you’ll like it.” Adrien pressed play. “I’ve seen on TV that people usually eat pizza while watching movies. I’m sorry I’m not allowed to order some.”, he said sadly as he sat down next to her. Their shoulders pressed hard against each other.  
  
       “No need for excuses.” Her smile gentle as always. “I made us cookies”  
  
  
_________________________  
  
  
       “Why is she following him?” The blue haired girl hid her face in a pillow. “Is she stupid?”  
  
       The movie turned out to be a horror movie that wasn’t suited for their age – despite Adrien turning 18 in a few days. Marinette hated horror movies and it seemed like Adrien wasn’t fond of them either. He lay curled up on the couch with his head in her lap. She’d been blushing furiously when he lay down like this shortly after the movie began.  Adrien didn’t know better, since he never watched a movie with friends and the last time he’d seen a movie in his room with another person it had been in this position with his mother. But Marinette didn’t complain. Their friendship as Chat Noir and Ladybug had always been close. Be it while fighting or after a fight.  
  
       He had started purring as she began to softly scratch his scalp with her fingernails. “I’m sorry!” Marinette pulled back her hand because she thought she’d hurt him.  
  
        Now it was Adrien’s turn to blush. “It wasn’t uncomfortable.”, he mumbled. “I liked it pretty much. Would you mind doing that a little bit longer?”  
  
       The first movie ended and the second one started instantly. The teens were still taken by the aftermath of the splatter they’d seen. Marinette was lost in her own thoughts; blaming herself for what she’d done in the shower. Adrien, who disliked horror per se, had his hand under his tank top and absently stroked his stomach. A gesture to calm himself, which the red hero noticed. Her eyes wandered towards his hand and her own hand stopped scratching Adrien’s ears.   
  
       That’s when he noticed. He looked down to, then back to her just to go back to his hand. “It calms me down.“, he explained shyly. “I am weird.”  
  
       “No, it’s just – I” She bit her lip in anticipation; trying to find the right words to say. It hurt. Being physically near him hurt so much. Keeping her wrongdoing a secret hurt. She just wanted to cry; hug him, touch him, tell him how she felt. But neither of that happened.   
  
       Maybe Adrien wasn’t the brightest light bulb on the chandelier but he knew basically what she wanted. His hand darted out towards her wrist and pulled one hand down; under his shirt. He made the same gestures he had done with her hand. Letting her gloved fingertips dance over the scars. He quietly asked himself why he was so obsessed with grossing her out. “Disgusting, isn’t it?”  
  
       “No.” Ladybugs face went into a dead serious expression. “Don’t do that.”, she commanded. “Don’t ever say that again about your body! You’re not weird and by far you’re not disgusting!” Blue eyes glared down at him. Adrien noticed her bottom lip tremble. “I’d really love if you’d just stop doing this to you, but I understand that it’s hard. But it won’t get better if you think like that. Please stop putting yourself down.”  
  
       His face switched into a gloomy yet sad expression. “But I am just bad luck. I am nothing compared to you.  A mere burden.”, he confessed. Somewhere in the movie a couple shrieked, making both teens jerk for a moment before going back to their discussion. “You’re perfect. The way you handle the toughest situation, you’re moving flawlessly and you clean every akuma; it’s like I’m just a nice looking bonus sticking to you.”   
  
        “Shut up!”, Marinette hissed and balled her fists. “I’m nothing like that. Maybe Ladybug is all of that, but the girl behind the mask is not _. I am_ just an ordinary girl. Sometimes I’m lazy or bored. I get scared way too often and most people tend to ignore me. I _always_ choke on my own words when it comes to difficulties. That’s why I wanted to keep my identity a secret. I am not what you expect me to be.“ In the time span of seconds she had to blink away tears. Marinette pulled the blonde up and let their foreheads touch as she continued to taunt him. ”And for the last part: We’re partners. We’re equals. I _need_ you! Don’t ever – even if it’s just for a second – fucking think that I don’t need you.”  
  
       He plopped right back down into her lap and stared at her in amazement. She’d gotten emotional. Really emotional. She cared for him. Nobody ever really cared for him that much. Adrien’s hand wandered up and cupped her cheek, noticing that this was the first time touching her soft skin without gloves. And they were sitting there. Just looking at each other before her earring first beeped. “You need to go?” His question hung sadly in the air.   
  
       Marinette shook her head. “I found a way to stay longer without giving away my identity.”, she said. _“Spots off.”_   
  
       A red light comforted her as she transformed back to... a slightly different Ladybug. Adrien’s eyes widened. Did she really just de-transform? In front of him? He sat up and mustered her, noticing her red kwami grab three cookies she could barely carry and fly off. Ladybug was missing gloves and the part that should have covered her feed. He tried to memorize every newly discovered information. ‘Her toenails are painted pink.’, he noticed. ‘She’s gotta be working a lot with her hands. She’s got scarf-skin on her index finger.’  
  
       “I-I made it myself.”, Marinette mumbled and broke the cold silence. “S-So I can stay here as long as you want me to stay. Nobody’s at my home anyway so nobody will notice I’m here – I’m rambling again, am I?” She hid her face in embarrassment.    
  
       Chat’s trademark grin crept its way to Adrien’s face before he jumped back into her lap; purring like a happy kitten. She smelled different. Like cinnamon and chocolate and like a warm home and like love – “’s okay!”, he purred. “Purrfectly okay, my lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's 'I need you'-speech was inspired by the song "Ordinary Girl" from Miley Cyrus. I found it on a playlist and instantly thought of Marinette.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette spends way too much time thinking about Adrien's dick and Gabriel literally is a dick.

       Parents – or adults in general – all share one talent: To interrupt teenagers and misinterpretate the situation. Especially if movies are involved. Let me explain. Imagine you’re watching a movie with your partner in crime you’ve been crushing on for almost a quarter of your life. She’s comforting you, even though she just sees you as a friend. Your both in a very – what others would call – intimate position when suddenly the door to your back opens and your fathers secretary – and self declared ‘compensatory mother’ – butts in. And on top of that the movie you’re watching decides to play a sex scene right in this poor moment of bad luck.   
  
       Well, so much for the situation Adrien and Marinette found themselves in. Luckily Adrien had the reaction of a cat, shot up and pushed his Ladybug down in his lap so Nathalie wouldn’t be able to see her.   
  
       “Adrien!”, the lady taunted. “It’s almost midnight! Your father won’t be amused if you’re not sleeping right.”  
  
        “I suggest you get out of here as fast as you came in.”, Adrien hissed in a dangerous voice that made Marinette shiver, glaring at the woman in the door. He cleared his throat and used his lips to emphasize his words. “I’m jerking off.”  
  
       The next thing Marinette heard besides her blood rushing was a door being slammed shut, followed by a groaned “Not again – I swear those teenagers!”.  
  
  
  
        “Works all the time and should keep her away for an hour.”, Adrien grinned to himself and then it hit him. He looked down at the girl lying in his lap and flushed. “Oh – I’m so sorry. That was Nathalie. My dad’s assistant.”  
  
       “You take an hour to –” She couldn’t even finish her thoughts. Marinette covered her face in embarrassment and tried really hard not to laugh. Well that answered the question she had thought of while showering. “’s okay, kitty.”, she stammered. “It’s just my head – weird images.”  
  
       He laughed hard. “So, you just admitted that you imagined me” Adrien teased and made a suggestive move with his hand, ”jerking off? Did I at least look good while doing it?”   
  
       Marinette just wanted to disappear as her facial color proofed him right. ‘Dear lord or whatever, please turn me into cutton candy.’ The Ladybug side got the better of her. She propped herself up. “Be careful or I might punch you in the dick for this!”, she threatened.   
  
        “Can’t be worse than getting my staff full force in it.”, Adrien shrugged still grinning.  
  
        She raised an eyebrow. It hurt considering she’d basically glued her eyebrows to the fabric of her mask. “Excuse me?”  
  
        “We’ll finding out that the stick can be extended...”, he chuckled and mimicked a pained expression. “Let’s just say it really hit me below the belt.”  
  
        “ _Meow_ ch!” Both started to laugh.   
  
        “First time I tried to use my yoyo I hit a building” Ladybug sat up and ruffled through his hair as he fell into her lap. “... with my face. Had to skip school for two days straight because of headaches and random nosebleeds.” The laughter continued for a short while until they both fell silent.   
  
        “My father bangs her, you know...”, Adrien suddenly said with a glare towards the door. His expression unreadable. “Nathalie, I mean.” Green eyes closed as if he remembered something he didn’t want to remember. “He thinks I don’t know but I do know.”, Adrien mumbled in Ladybugs lap. “And I do also know that she is married and has a family.”  
  
       “You mean she’s cheating on her husband with your father?!”  
  
       “I think he’s forcing her.” Adrien shook his head. “He has something against her that will make her do this.” His face against her lower stomach Adrien curled up like a hurt kitten. Marinette continued to comfort him, stroking his hair and sometimes trailing his jaw line with her finger; feeling the soft skin. “My father is a cruel man. I wish I could just break out of this life – be Chat Noir forever.”  
  
       The girl started staring off into space. “Yeah, I know that but different.”, she responded. “Don’t get me wrong, I _love_ being Ladybug but I _hate_ the expectations people have towards me. I have enough of that being Mar– just me.”   
  
       Adrien gave a small purr and both of them drifted off in their own trails of thoughts. The movie got completely unnoticed but it created a lively atmosphere. Marinette suddenly froze. “Your birthday is in a few days!!!”  
  
       Green eyes looked startled at her. “How’d you know?”  
  
       Marinette grinned sheepishly and couldn’t hold back a blush spreading in her face. “Already forgot that I used to be obsessive about you?” Remembering the planner she had about his daily schedule, Marinette had to admit that her previous obsession was kind of a sick. “Are you throwing a party?”  
  
       Adrien shook his head. “No, father won’t allow it.” Hands were balled into fists. “In fact he’s so overly protective that he won’t let me out those days except for school. Even though he usually doesn’t show up on my birthday.”  
  
       “Would you like to have a birthday party?” The nod from him was the allowance for her to start planning.  
  
  
___________________  
  
  
       The next morning both got a harsh wake up due to a timer ringing in a sound that could wake up half Europe. Well at least the female part had a not so nice wake-up. Marinette hid her face in the pillow she was clutching with one arm. A groan escaped her lips. This wasn’t her alarm. She opened her eyes. This wasn’t her room either. Why was the TV still running? She stiffened. Something soft was in her other hand. A bundle of hair. Looking down she saw Adrien sound asleep in her lap.   
  
        ‘Wa-wa-wah, did I really spend the night here?’   
  
        Carefully and desperately not trying to wake the literally sleeping beauty, Marinette stood up. She stumbled over to the source of the ringing sound, just to notice that it wasn’t a timer but in fact her own phone that made those horrible sounds. ‘Of course. It’s Saturday, why would there be any need for a timer?’ She looked down at the phone just to realize that it was an incoming call. From no one else than Alya. “Shit.”, the bluenette cursed.  
  
        Quickly throwing a look over her shoulder to be sure Adrien was still sleeping, Marinette picked up.  
  
        _Girl, I’ve been trying to reach you for the last two hours.  
        I’m standing in front of your bakery and no one opens. I thought you’ve been kidnapped.   
        Where the hell are you?_  
  
        Marinette crunched her nose. Alya practically screamed into the receiver. At this rate she couldn’t assure the feline boy wouldn’t hear the conversation. “Alya, I’m okay, please stop screaming. It’s 7 am for god’s sake.”, Marinette pleaded. “You’re going to wake up half of Paris!” She sat down on the bed a few feet away from the couch. “I am totally okay, I swear. I’m just with a friend.”  
  
        What friend? Did yah stay the fucking night without telling me? Why didn’t yah answer my texts? What did yah do to be too busy to answer your best friend?  
  
        The dip dyed girl was still yelling what caused Adrien to rustle on the couch. From her point of view, Marinette couldn’t see if he was awake or not. So she stood up and wandered over. A big mistake if your partner in conversation is a yelling psycho. Green eyes opened, looking at Marinette with a sleepy expression and damn it looked hot and left the superhero speechless. “What’s wrong?”, Adrien asked, rubbing his eyes not seeing the phone in Marinette’s hands. “It’s cat-urday. Why ‘u up so early?”  
  
_WHAT WAS THAT? GIRL, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?_  
         A BOY? ARE YOU WITH A BOY?   
         DID YOU SPEND THE NIGHT WITH A GUY?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya gives Marinette the sex-talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I got told that I'm making terrible mistakes and that my sentences sometimes don't make sense I wanted to ask for someone who would like to beta (?) for me (or maybe tell me where I make mistakes so I can improve).  
> Just let me know.

         “Gonna talk to you later!”, Marinette rambled, hung up and turned off the phone. Then she looked back to Adrien who was still in between sleep and being awake. “I’m sorry. Just my noisy best friend who was a bit worried.” Her fingers intertwined with each other as she spoke. “Actually, I got to go now, so I’m quickly going to look for my kwami and you just go back to sleep, okay?”  
  
        Adrien laid his forearm over is eyes and nodded in response. Too tired to actually get what has been said. The voice on the phone had sounded familiar. The red light from the transformation of his partner awoke him. He looked up at Ladybug who tried to be as silent as possible as she collected all of her belongings – except the cookies. He did not want her to go. This house felt like a home when she was there. The thought of asking his father to adopt her made its way into his head.  
  
Subconsciously his body moved into another position. His head halfway hanging down over the edge of the couch, his mouth still to sleepy to say that he wanted her to stay. His hair hung down but still managed to look perfect. And then he gave her the look – a look full of want. Actually a look he learned from a shoot – the photographer called it ‘eye sex’ but he had explained that it showed the person just how much you want them. Being the cute little cinnamon roll he is and not knowing a lot about sex at that time, Adrien thought it meant ‘I want you to stay’. Anyways it always worked for shoots. He did not know which effect it had on a living person since he always used it towards cameras.   


        Just in that moment Marinette looked at him. Blood suddenly rushed to her face making it as red as her suit. “Holyfuckingshityoure ** _so_** hot”, she sputtered out before clasping a hand in front of her mouth. Shit, she needed to leave right now or she would die of embarrassment. Gripping her yoyo, she threw it out of the window. “Thanks for tonight. Had a lot of fun; let’s repeat that someday.”, she said hastily. “Text yah, bye!”   
  
        And Ladybug was out of the window.  
  
        Adrien looked at the window a long time with his green puppy eyes. His trademark grin spread over his face as he recalled the situation. She’d blushed. Hard! He did not quite know what that meant but he was hella sure it’s positive.  
   
        Plagg flew up bickering. “Was that Ladybug?”, he asked and got a nod in response. “Good thing Tikki didn’t find me. – What’s with that face, Adrien?”  
  
         He chuckled. “You know, Plagg, people do a lot of things when they see me” His memories brought up screaming fangirls and lust-filled flirts, “but no one has ever cursed before.”   
  
  
       Nino visited Adrien after Ladybug had left. He climbed up the fire escape on the side of the mansion and broke in the house like he was Chat Noir. Adrien didn’t notice him knocking on the door and letting himself inside. He knew that the Agreste’s are rich but damn this was showing off on a whole different level. “Adrien?”, he asked into the room he supposed was empty. “You here, dude?”  
  
       The blonde shot up from the couch; hectically checking that his stomach was covered. “Nino?”, he asked in disbelief, but kind of happy to see his best friend. “How’d you get in here?!”  
  
       The tanned boy shot him a grin. “You’re not the only one that knows how to climb buildings.” Nino made his way around the couch to sit down next to his best friend. He couldn’t hide the excitement of seeing his richs friends room! “Dude, your room looks like a theme park!”  
  
       Adrien laughed. “Ladybug said the same!” His hands quickly went to cover his mouth as if he had spilled a secret.   
  
       Nino’s eyebrow rose. “Ladybug?”, he asked suspiciously.   
  
       Adrien looked to the ground and nodded. “She comes over sometimes.”  
  
        The corners of Nino’s mouth rose as he saw the logo of the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery on the paper bags on the table. Marinette – cute, little Marinette – visited a boy at home! That was some kind of progress. “Dude, you have a girl over and don’t tell me?” Nino put a hand to his chest.  “You wound me, boy. I thought we were best friends!”  
  
       Adrien flinched as anxiety got the better of him. He did not see a joke in that. He thought he had really hurt Nino. “I’m so sorry.”  
  
       Nino sighed and hooked an arm around Adrien. “Dude, you really need to get jokes.”, he said. “I stop teasing you if you spill _all_ the dirty little details!”  
  
__________________  


       As Marinette arrived home she spotted her best friend at the entrance of the bakery. The bluenette landed on her balcony and searched for a way to explain Alya how exactly she got in to the apartment without using the entrance. The easiest way would be to yell about seeing Ladybug, since she was sure the blogger would follow immediately. This gave her time to change into normal clothes.   
  
       “Girl, I can’t believe you spend the night with a boy! _A boy_!”, the bigger girl said as they finally sat down on Marinette’s bed. “Just when did you think about telling me?”  
  
       Marinette looked to the ground. “It’s not like we had – ”, she let the sentence open and blushed. “We just watched movies and talked. I slept on the couch.” No need to mention that he slept on the couch as well.  
  
       “Darling, I know about _Netflix and chill_.”, Alya taunted, nudging her friends shoulder. “And it’s never just watching movies.”  
  
       Marinette rolled her eyes. “I am way too young for sex!”, she explained, scratching her nose.  
  
       “You’re seventeen!” Alya sounded like this would explain everything. “You’re young; you’re at the start of experiencing your sexuality. Just admit it, you don’t know how to have safer sex!”   
  
       And she was right as a blushing Mari proofed her. With that began the most awkward two hours of Marinette’s life. Even ‘the talk’ with her mom wasn’t as awkward as this. She didn’t want to know why exactly Alya brought along visuals. Somewhere in between she joked that Alya was as inexperienced as herself to which the darker skinned girl just replied that she had spend the night at Nino’s – definitely not watching movies. With embarrassing laughter Marinette tried to overplay just how uncomfortable she felt about that and the fact that Alya’s previous explanations based on her experience.   
  
       “I can’t believe you hooked up with Nino!”, Marinette freaked. “He gave you a hickey under the boob!”  
  
       “I can’t believe my cute, innocent Marinette spend the night with a guy without introducing me to him!”  
  
       Touché.  
  
       “So, now tell me everything you did.” Alya leaned her chin on her knees and mustered her best friend with a smug grin. “Spill all the juicy details, girl!”  
  
       The bluenette’s hand absently made its way to her arm to scratch at the cuts as she spoke. Because that’s what you do – touch the things you’re trying to hide. Most of the time because your head knows you’re lying and can’t handle the stress.  
  
       Alya froze halfway through. What was her best friend scratching? Just for a second the pink shirts sleeve exposed something making her blood freeze. “Mari.”, Alya said in a stern voice. Marinette rambled on. Alya laid a hand on her shoulder. “Mari!”, she said once again with more force. “What is that?”   
  
       ‘Fuck!’ Marinette’s eyes went wide. All the scratching had rolled up her sleeve. “It’s nothing.” She pulled it down, hiding it.  
  
       Alya’s grip tightened; now clutching both shoulders she faced the blue eyed superhero. “Bullshit.”, she spat; going as far as to remove Marinette’s shirt to inspect her upper body. Gladly noticing that there were only three cuts. But still cuts! “Mari, please, I promise I won’t be mad at you but explain to me – _what is that_?”  
  
       Suddenly everything that had pooled in Marinette’s stomach bursted out. Not saying much the girl just started to cry. Hugging her legs she sat on her bed; looking like a hurt animal. Alya could catch the phrases “wanted to test” and “it hurts”.   
  
       The bigger girl couldn’t do much. She crawled to her best friend and hugged her. Silently being there for her was all she could do. “Girl, I’m going to stay the weekend.”, she whispered into the blue hair. “I’m not going to leave you alone here.” And she was so going to talk to her mother about adopting Marinette for the time until her parents come back.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette learns that being on suicide watch sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I love all of your comments so much. Please feel hugged! I love all of you so much!

       The orange haired girl didn’t lie when she said she’d move in for the weekend. Marinette was happy that Alya didn’t follow her to the toilet – her only opportunity at this point to talk to Tikki. The poor kwami wasn’t used to hide for so long. Sneaking out as Ladybug was even harder with her best friend around.   
  
       [Can’t visit you, kitty cat. My bestie decided to handcuff herself to me.], she texted her partner.  
  
       **[No problem, my lady. I have a few shoots anyway so my free-time is limited.]**  
  
       Marinette’s face got stern. The boy told her before that he didn’t enjoy modeling as much as it seemed on the pictures. That his father practically forced him into the business. Her phone vibrated again with just an image of Adrien’s mouth stretched into a smug grin. A bit of his shoulders could be seen underneath a sports shirt with a stunning design. In the background other models were posing.  
  
       [Are you texting me from one of your shoots? Are you stupid? What if they catch you? They’ll be angry at you for leaking the newest collection! *rolling eyes emoji*]  
  
**[But I missed you, bugaboo! D:]**  
**[Say, can I call you tonight?]**  
  
       Marinette’s smile softened. “Sure.”, she whispered at her phone as she answered that she would call him as soon as Alya was asleep. She hesitated sending the last part but got herself to send it anyways.   
  
       [I miss you too, kitty.]  
  
  
       “Mari!”, Alya bellowed from the bathroom door. “You’ve been in there way too long.”  
  
       Marinette did not answer as she was way too absorbed in her own trail of thoughts. Just as Alya threatened to kick down the door, the blue haired girl snapped out of her dream. “Sorry, I’m coming out!”  
  
       “You’re even worse than a jail guard.”, Marinette tried to joke as she plopped down on the bed next to her best friend. “Don’t put me on suicide watch.”  
  
       The girl bit her lip and dug her nails in the cup of hot chocolate. “Mari?”, she asked the bluenette. “Please promise me to never do that again, okay? Or at least don’t keep it a secret from me.”  
  
       The chocolate suddenly looked very interesting. “I never planned on doing it again, Alya.” Marinette stared at the cup like it contained the secrets of the universe. “I deeply _regret_ ever thinking about it. It was just – I tried to _understand_ him.” ‘I guess it didn’t went well’, she ended her sentence in her head. Marinette looked up to Alya but couldn’t hold eye-contact for long. “I won’t do it again. I _purr_ -omise.” The pun just slipped from her lips without her awareness.   
  
       Alya’s eyebrow rose. She did not believe Marinette, even if she trusted her with her own life – Alya still considered her lying. As if shaking her head could get the thought away she changed the topic. “Girl, did you just make a cat-pun?”  
  
       The bluenette choked on her drink. “M-Maybe?”  
  
  
       Alya had made several comments about Marinette’s constant texting with her ‘mysterious boyfriend’. But Alya respected her secret even if she was worried that Marinette would cut again just to understand him. That evening Alya rambled a lot just to keep her best friend distracted. She even considered calling Nino over but making out on Marinette’s bed just wasn’t an option. The girl’s watched movies and midnight had already passed as Alya finally fell asleep.  
  
       Marinette closed the trap door to her balcony carefully and placed a plant on it so she would be warned if Alya was searching for her. She could only imagine Alya’s face if she found her on the balcony, crouched into a corner with a ladybug mask on her face.   
  
       Fortunately she had charged her phone so she had about three hours to talk. Adrien picked up the video chat instantly. She didn’t even bother to say hello. “You, sir, are in so much trouble! Your bad puns are rubbing off on me!” Marinette pouted at the screen, tapping a finger against the glass to underline her words.  
  
       Adrien had laughed. From the angle of his camera, Marinette assumed his phone was somewhere on his nightstand. He was wearing a suit with a fly and Marinette wanted to tell him so much how sexy he looked in that. “My puns aren’t bad, bugaboo!”, he corrected. “They’re _claw_ -some!”  
  
       The girl groaned at her phone charming another grin out of the boy. “What’s up with the suit at this unholy hour?”, she changed the topic. “Going to church to confess your sins?”  
  
       “The sin that I’m looking _paw_ -sitively good?”, he teased before tossing the fly aside. “I’ve been on another dinner of my father’s just until now.” His face hit the pillow and again there was this smile that couldn’t reach his eyes. “Keeping up the image of a good family.”  
  
       Marinette returned the smile. She tilted her head and made a gesture as if she was stroking his head. “Yeah, I know that feel.”, she murmured. “Listen, kitty, I may not be able to drop by the next days.” Marinette bit her lip until it bled. She was so nervous about everything right now. “My best friend found out I am ... uhm, alone at home and, since I can’t be trusted alone, I am on constant watch and her family wants to adopt me.”  
  
        She saw his smile fade. “What about akuma-attacks?”, Adrien asked, holding onto the last string that bound them. He had gotten used to the visits from his lady.  
  
       “If an akuma attacks the city, I’ll be there in the split of a second.”, the hero ensued. Then she reminded who was sleeping right underneath her. Marinette lowered his voice and leaned over to the phone. “I’ll try to sneak out if she’s sleeping.”, she whispered. “I want to see you again as soon as possible and hug the sadness out of you, my little Chaton.”   
  
       “Cats honor?”  
  
       She put a hand above her heart. “ _Cats honor_!”  
  
       Adrien wanted to squeak because it really sounded like they were a couple and he would really really like it to be that way. Even Marinette realized it but both of them reminded themselves that they were ‘just friends’.  They talked – actually Marinette did the talking. Distracting Chat from his suffering was her highest priority. Even if the air got quite cool at night.   
  
       “My lady, are you _purr_ -haps outside?”  
  
       Marinette nodded and failed to hide the shiver that went through her whole body. “Can’t go back in. Would wake _her_ up.”  
  
        “You're shivering all over. Don't want you to catch a cold! Go back inside and get some sleep, bugaboo.”, Adrien said in a loving tone that tore Marinette’s heart apart. “I’m going to sleep too.”   
  
       Marinette nodded in response. “Good night, my little kitten.”  
  
       “Sleep well, bugaboo!”  
  
       As soon as he hung up, the back of her head hit the wall. “Stupid.”, Marinette cursed. She felt herself falling for him. Not just falling – speed falling. The nicknames, his smile, his concern even if he his day had been worse. Marinette ripped off the mask, ignoring the pain that came with it. “I’m so stupid.”  
  
       She sat there for about twenty minutes before sneaking into her room and curling up next to her best friend. Even in her sleep Alya seemed to sense when her best friend was sad. As Marinette started to sniffle, Alya’s arm slung around her and pulled her close. It had been one day and she already missed his touch. She wanted to hug him so damn bad. Even if she felt guilty the bluenette couldn’t help but imagine that it was her goofy partner hugging her instead of her best friend.  
  
  
  
       Adrien kept looking at his phone – the black screen to be concrete. Somewhere deep in his heart he was happy because she called him her little kitten. But there was something that bothered him. Ladybug had cried. He had seen enough crying models to see if make-up was ruined by tears. He gritted his teeth until his jar hurt.  “Why was she crying?”, he asked into the void he called his home. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face in them.   
  
        “Damn Plagg, I want to hug her.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to watch my punctuation. Hopefully, it's better than before.  
> At first, I wanted to split this chapter but I'm quite busy this weekend so I'm posting a longer chapter.

        Alya was a woman of her word. On Sunday evening, Marinette and all her necessary belongings were gathered in the guest room of Alya’s family. For once the bluenette was glad that her best friend didn’t insist on sharing a bed together. This situation gave her a small chance of escaping and maybe visiting Adrien at home. Alya would kill her if she found out, though.   
  
        Marinette spent the Sunday night with constant texting. Smiling at everything he told her, even if he called it ‘just boring model stuff’. She had felt Alya’s gaze on her as she was writing the next entry for the Ladyblog. “Man, you got it bad,” she had sighed upon Marinette’s flushed cheeks.  
  
        Adrien had complimented her again. Well, actually Chat had complimented her. She knew him well enough now to be able to tell if he was transformed or not. He’d patrolled alone tonight because people on the Ladyblog had commented that they had seen a suspicious butterfly near Notre Dame. He’d taken the patrol because he knew she was busy.   
  
        [How’s Paris doing, Chaton?]   
  
        “Earth to Marinette!” Alya waved a hand in front of Marinette’s face but got no reaction out of the blue haired girl.  
  
**[ _Purr_ -fectly fine.]  
        [The night sky is beauti- _fur_!]  
        [Almost as beautiful as you, my lady!]  
        [and _meow_ of course]**  
  
        Marinette chuckled and blushed, still not noticing her best friend trying to get her attention.   
  
        [That was bad even for your standards]  
  
        She could practically see him pouting at the device. She bit her lip before she typed the risky part. Even if she felt bad for using her being Ladybug as an excuse to get close to him, he needed to swallow his own, flirty medicine!  
  
        [But you were right about the last part, handsome boy]  
  
        Alya had enough. She snatched her best friend’s phone out of her hands, - causing Marinette to squeak – maybe made a teeny tiny glance on the conversation and started recording a voicemail. “Yo loverboy, I’m glad you’re making my little girl happy but keep it down a bit. If you aren’t planning on sending nudes, I call upon my right on my part of her attention.” Still recording she turned her head to Marinette. “And seriously guys, what’s up with the cat puns? Am I missing something?”  
  
        Adrien knew that voice but couldn’t lay a finger on who it belonged to. Probably because he heard his lady screaming “give my phone back!” followed by various insults in the background. The model blushed hard at the nudes part and excused himself for the toilet.   
  
        “Alya, that’s not nice!”, Marinette yelled as she snatched back her phone, pressing it to her chest as if it was the most important thing she owned. “What would you think if I saw your chats with Nino?”  
  
        Alya snickered and shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t think.”, she answered honestly. “But I’d prepare a pillow or a mattress because you’d faint at the amount of sexting.” The brunette gave a loud groan as Marinette’s phone vibrated once again.  “It better is important, because I’m one message away from tracking him down and giving him a life lesson.”  
  
        ‘Which of the nine lives do you mean?’, Marinette thought with a grin. She unlocked her phone to see that Adrien had replied with a picture showing his pouting mouth. In the background an open door and a room full of people. The caption read   
**[As much as I’d like to entertain you with my _purr_ -fect body, I believe the other guests at the party I am currently attending wouldn’t be as _cat_ -cited as you.]**  
  
        Marinette flushed. Her head resembled a ripe tomato. ‘No, you did not just think about him naked!’, she told herself. Alya snickered beside her.   
  
**[Need to go back!]**  
        [Good night, _meow_ ladies!]  
        [Good night, silly!], Marinette answered before putting away her phone.   
  
        “You’re smiling.” Alya pointed out with a wide grin and a wink. “I’m glad that you’re happy but introduce me to him soon, okay?”  
  
        Marinette blushed even more than before. “It’s not like that.” She waved her hands in front of her. “We’re not dating or anything.”  
  
        “Yeah, sure!” Alya rolled her eyes. “He’s flirting with you and you’re flirting back. You two totally are a thing!”  
  
        Suddenly her best friend’s good mood changed. She lay back into the pillows and stared at her chewed nails. “We’re just _friends_ ,” Marinette said sadly, emphasizing the last word with a crunch of her nose. “At least, that’s what we agreed on.” Marinette silently cursed her arm for itching when she added the lie “And with my crush on Adrien it would be unfair to both of us.” Well, technically she wasn’t lying. The Adrien she knew and the true Adrien were two different people.   
  
        Alya laid down next do her. She squeezed Marinette’s hands in a comforting manner. “So, you don’t know whether you like him or Adrien?”  
  
        The bluenette rolled to her back and placed a head on her stomach, trying to physically feel the knot inside. “It’s difficult.” She sighed. “We just got really close when I found out that he cuts. I comforted him and I am not sure if he just trusts me because I am the only one who cares about him. I know that sounds weird but I am not sure of my feelings either.” Her sight drifted to the ceiling, away from Alya. “Sometimes he is really annoying with all his puns and stupid flirts but with the same things he manages to make me smile on other days. I love when he smiles at me and it’s tearing me apart to think of the times he feels like he needs to hurt himself. You know” she bit her bottom lip as she spoke out the thoughts that have been nagging her for a long time, “as a friend it’s an option to be there for him but if I were his girlfriend I’d feel like I need to get him to stop; to keep him happy all the time. And I don’t think I can handle all the stress.”  
  
        Alya mustered her friend and gave a silent nod. “It’s okay Mari. I understand.”   
  
        Marinette secretly smuggled a cookie into her purse for poor Tikki who had to hide all day. Then she turned around to Alya, swallowing down her sadness. “Say Alya, do you love Nino?”  
  
        Surprised by the sudden change of topic Alya had to think. She tapped her index finger against her chin. “Not sure if I love him but he’s attractive and a good lover,” She answered shrugging. “Not even sure if he loves me. Maybe we’re just friends with benefits.”  
  
        “Feelings sure are complicated!” Marinette whined. “How do adults handle that? Seems like bam, love, marriage and suddenly kids – happy ever after.”  
  
        “Mari, life is not a blockbuster.”  
  
        Somehow Marinette couldn’t help but wish it were. Her life would be a sold out the minute it aired in the cinemas. A superhero with self-esteem issues that is deeply in love with both of her partner’s personalities but they only know one side of her. If life were a movie it would be guaranteed that she’d have a happy ending and she wouldn’t have to fear that Adrien would reject her as soon as he saw the plain, clumsy girl behind the mask. Marinette sighed. ‘That would be great.’  
  
  
_____________  
  
  
        On Monday Alya literally dragged Marinette to school. They had been up until 3 in the morning talking and cuddling. It was Alya’s mother who had to remind them of the time and sent Marinette into the guest room. The blogger was that kind of early riser, Marinette obviously wasn’t. The smaller girl complained the whole walk that she was tired.  
  
        Marinette instantly fell asleep on her tablet when they arrived at their seats. Alya gave an exhausted sigh and switched glares with Nino. Adrien didn’t look better than Marinette. He’d been up all night on some kind of stupid festival his father wanted him to attend. But he was way better at covering that up.  
  
         “You texted me earlier that she’s living with you. What happened?” Nino asked worried and pointed at the sleeping girl.  
  
        Adrien’s jerked unnoticeable at that piece of information combined with Alya’s pained expression. Something in his stomach hurt. He considered Marinette his friend and he didn’t want her to suffer. He turned in his seat and looked at the blue hair that was sprawled across the desk. “What’s wrong with her?”  
  
        A sigh escaped Alya’s lips. She fished for Nino’s energy drink and took a sip. “Mari’s parents aren’t home and I couldn’t exactly leave her alone.” She gave Nino a knowing glare, hoping he would get the hint.  
  
        He didn’t get it. “That’s nothing new”, he answered confused “She’s taken care of the bakery alone more than once.”  
  
        Alya suppressed the urge to facepalm. Her eyes wandered to Adrien. He is a friend, right? He wouldn’t judge Marinette if he knew, right? “I know it’s just” Alya tugged on both of their sleeves to tell them to come closer. She lowered her voice to a whisper, “Mari cuts.”  
  
        Green eyes widened as Adrien looked at Marinette with a shocked expression. He couldn’t believe that Marinette – sweet, cute Marinette – would do the same as he did. He wanted to comfort her, tell her that he knew what she was going through. Somewhere deep in his guts anger rose against his dip dyed classmate. Who gave Alya the right to tell other parties about such a delicate secret?  
  
         “She said she just ‘wanted to try it’ and that she won’t do it again but honestly I don’t believe her.” Alya explained and took another sip from the drink. “That’s why I asked my mom if she could stay with us until her parents come back. I want to keep an eye on her.”  
  
        Nino hid his face in his hands and groaned. “Not her too!” escaped his lips as his eyes switched between Adrien and Marinette. After all, he knew more than every party involved in this dilemma. He wondered if he should just tell Alya, Nino, and Marinette what he knew and assign them all to therapy. That would be what a responsible adult would do but he was just a fifteen-year-old boy. “I guess that sounds like a good idea.”  
  
        Adrien sighed. ‘That’s not a good idea at all.’ he thought and gave the poor, sleeping girl a pitiful glance. He wanted to reach out for her and a small part of him wanted to protect her. They were friends after all. ‘If you don’t understand it you can’t control it.’


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino knows and Mari is starting to get pissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is coming to an end (maybe?)  
> I think I'll do about 7/8 more, slightly longer chapters but that isn't settled. 
> 
> Also, fuck punctuation! I don't get how that works so I'm just going to take some comma and throw them in your face.  
> I tried to translate some idioms and hell, yours are weirder than the german ones I know.

        Marinette slept through the first two classes until Mrs. Bustier woke her up by slamming the physics book on the table right next to her head. The poor girl jerked up and stuttered excuses. If you knew her more than five minutes you knew that you could read her face like an open book.  
  
        She wasn’t the only one who couldn’t concentrate on physics. Adrien spared small glances over his shoulder, still worried about the shy girl. Alya had said that she only wanted to give it a try but Adrien wasn’t sure how many cuts > _a try_ < meant; how long the > _test phase_ < was. He had been in it for too long to remember. ‘Maybe I could talk to her during lunch break.’ Adrien thought. ‘She really shouldn’t be doing this.’  
  
        But the talk during lunch break never came. Nathalie had sent him a text message telling him to skip school for the last classes because of a photo shoot. He left as soon as the school bell rang but not without a last glance towards the girl behind him who had already gotten back to sleeping. When nobody was watching, he stretched out his hand and patted her head. “Keep a stiff upper lip!” he mumbled towards her before grabbing his bag.  
  
        The gorilla had been waiting for him with a nervous Nathalie who instantly reminded him that he was late. Adrien didn’t care. His mind was wrapped around what he just now realized. Marinette’s hair felt soft. Just like Ladybug’s. He stared down at his hands. Ladybug and Marinette knew each other. They shared same features such as hair and eye color. Both had Asian origins. ‘They got to be relatives.’ Adrien drew the conclusion and planned to make the same mistake he judged Alya for before. ‘I need to tell Ladybug. She needs to be there for her.’  
  
        “Adrien, stop staring at your hands!” Nathalie scolded with a click of her tongue. “It’s annoying.”  
  
        Oh, how he wanted to snap and tell her to stop tapping her finger against the goddamn armrest. But he had to act calm, and friendly and collected. “I’m sorry.”  
  
  
___________________  
  
  
        Marinette just had her third energy drink and now felt like she could smell colors. She wiggled her butt in her seat as she tried to choke down the sandwich Alya forced her to eat. “You haven’t eaten this morning and you shouldn’t drink that much sugar on an empty stomach!” her best friend complained before turning back to Nino. “So, we gonna do something special for model boy's birthday?”  
  
        Nino shrugged. “His slave-driver of father won’t let him have a party.” the boy answered. “And as tempting as it is I’m not going to turn into a super villain again just so my best bud could have a great party. My arm still hurts from Ladybug’s yoyo.”  
  
        Marinette shrunk under the accusing look of Nino and for a moment, she feared that he knew.  
  
        “How about we throw a party for him?” Alya suggested. “We just need to get him out and back in without somebody noticing.” The brunette stood up and leaned on the table. “I’m going to ask a few others if they know a place we can party. Can you keep an eye on sugar-shock here?”  
  
        Nino nodded and was left alone with Marinette who asked him for her fourth drink. He really wanted to throw a party for his best friend but getting him out of the mansion would be impossible for a normal human. It would take superpowers to get him out of there. Suddenly a grin appeared on his face and he looked at Marinette. “Hey Mari”, he began plotting his plan “You want that party too, right?”  
  
        Said girl jumped up and down in her seat and nodded. “Sure, why not? It could be fun and Adrien really deserves it.” She didn’t get why Nino looked at her like that but her brain was too energetic to work with that. She laughed nervously. “But how do we get him out of that prison? It’s not like any of us has superpowers.”  
  
        “I have an idea but you gotta promise me to not freak out right now.” Nino glanced through the room to check if Alya was out of reach. Marinette gave an approving nod. “How do I say it, uhm – I know you’re Ladybug and I thought you could help us.”  
  
        The drink that had been in Marinette’s hand just seconds before now emptied itself on the table in front of them. The girl grabbed some tissues to clean it up while laughing nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She denied hastily. “I am not Ladybug. How could Ladybug or Chat Noir be a student? That’s impossible.”  
  
        Nino gave a short laugh at the giddy girl in front of him that couldn’t see how ridiculous she looked while lying. “I know who Adrien is and I know who you are, Mari,” he said calmly rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t worry, Alya knows nothing and I’m not planning on telling anyone. I just wanted to ask you if you could bring Adrien to the party. I know you’re visiting him regularly and you sure do know how to get around those security cams.”  
  
        On the outside Marinette looked collected but inside she lived through a midlife crisis. Nino knew that Adrien is Chat Noir but now he knew that she is Ladybug which makes the situation kind of a chaos. Alya could find out, he could blackmail her or even worse he could tell Adrien. She had flirted with Adrien in front of Nino’s eyes. Marinette felt like she was about to faint. “How?” was the only thing her brain could produce at this moment.  
  
        Nino shrugged. “An akuma appears and suddenly both of you disappear,” He answered. “After I found out about Adrien it was obvious that you’re Ladybug.  
  
        Another shower of fear overcame Marinette. “Does Adrien know I’m Ladybug?”  
  
        At the same time, Nino’s phone vibrated. He looked at the text message. “Speaking of the devil” he turned his phone towards Marinette so she could read the message “Does this answer your question?”  
  
        **[Nino, does Marinette have a sister or cousin that looks like her? Because I think Ladybug and Marinette are related by blood or something.]**  
  
        “That idiot is totally oblivious.” Nino shook his head.“So back to the party, will you help us?”  
  
        Marinette always imagined that she would feel hurt or scared at least for three days if anyone found out about her but now that she thought about it, she felt like a weight had been taken from her back. She grinned at Nino. “Do I have another choice?” She saw Alya approaching with an even wider grin. “Nino, you got to promise me to not tell anyone about all of this, okay?”  
  
        “I swear! I really think you and Adrien would make a cute couple considering that you both like each other.” He held a hand in front of his heart and gave a loving sigh. He couldn’t hold back one last comment before Alya could reach them. “Oh, and thank you for saving Paris but next time I get akumatized please don’t throw your yo-yo at me again.”  
  
  
        After school Marinette wanted to go home because inspiration kissed her – she finally had the best idea for Adrien’s birthday present. She just needed to buy a few more supplies and a few hours of being unsupervised. Tikki would need to help her with what she planned on crafting and that wasn’t possible if Alya was around. Additionally, she remembered needing to bake like three plates of muffins for customers which she couldn’t do at Alya’s.  
  
         “Where do you think you’re going?” Alya’s grip was tight on Marinette’s collar. “You’re living with me now.”  
  
        Marinette sighed. “Alya,” she said calmly but her blood boiled inside of her. She didn’t want to be watched constantly. “I really appreciate that you’re worried about me but I don’t need to be watched every second of the day. I told you it’s useless to move into your home because I have to deliver some orders of the bakery; plus I need things from my room.”  
  
        Alya held back the urge to stomp her foot. “But –”  
  
        “I told you I won’t do it again, okay?” She tried to keep calm. She really really tried to keep calm. “I have things to do; I promise I’ll be back by dinner. Deal?”  
  
__________________  
  
  
        About four hours, one journey to the craft store, three plates of muffins and one full of cookies later Marinette had the basics of her present finished. Knowing that he enjoyed putting pictures with his friends on his night table, she had managed to change a simple one-picture-frame to a masterpiece. Right now it was white and had yet to be painted. The usually square form now was something like a wild forest; branches offering space for at least five more pictures. The shapes of cats could be found on the bottom as well as lying on the branches. A ladybug was located near one of the cats. Marinette planned on painting it the next day and maybe – if she has enough money for more plaster and enough time – she will form Ladybug and Chat Noir as small figures that could be placed sitting on top of the frame.  
  
        Marinette smiled at her work. Slowly wandering to her bed and tossing her clothes aside. She was tired and totally forgot that a certain girl had adopted her. “Just ten minutes.”  
         
        Another hour later a furious Alya appeared in Marinette’s bedroom and forced the sleeping beauty to come with her. Marinette followed in her pajamas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning to draw the frame she made. I'll link it here once I'm finished.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette is confused.

        Chat Noir called his lady via his baton as soon as it sensed the transformed Ladybug. Her face filled the small display and she appeared to be swinging from rooftop to rooftop. To be honest, he wasn’t patrolling like he originally planned; he didn’t even spent one thought about it. Adrien just wanted to visit his classmate, asking if she was okay and having a serious talk about her self-harming behavior. He felt pathetic because in his worry he had cut himself twice again. ‘Marinette is too nice for that’, he thought desperately. ‘She has a loving family, people who are there for her. She can’t fall into the same pattern as me. I need to warn her; to show her what it does to you.’  
  
        After asking his best friend for Alya’s address, he made his way over the rooftops of Paris. He’d asked Nino to distract Alya for a while – knowing that they were hooking up – so he could talk to Marinette alone. It would be bothersome if the phone-addicted blogger would be around them. His plans were forgotten after he knew his lady was transformed.  
  
        “My Lady,” he almost yelled in joy. “You could make it out?”   
  
        Her smile warmed his heart like the rising sun in summer. “Yes, minou,” she laughed at the obvious. ”I needed to get out; my host started dry humping her boyfriend right next to me.” She made a gagging noise.  
  
        He felt his heart beating faster as he landed on the street near the Seine. “Where are you?”  
  
        Marinette smiled into the little communicator. “Turn around.” She saw him do a scared jump twice, in the monitor and in real life, as she appeared right behind him hanging upside down from the next street light. “Surprise?”  
  
        “My lady, you’re going to be the death of me.” A hand dramatically clenched over his heart as he pretended to faint. “But I can’t say I’d mind such a sweet death,” he said coming closer to her face.  
  
        Ladybug bumped his nose. “Not in public, little one,” she reminded him as both of them took back their place as heroes of the night by climbing the Eiffel Tower. “What were you up to? This isn’t your usual route.”  
  
        They sat on the Eiffel Tower, letting their legs tangle dangerously over the edges of the metal construct. Chat shuffled uneasy in his position, kneading his gloved hands. “I wanted to visit someone,” he quibbled. “My lady, tell me, are you related to my classmate Marinette?”  
  
        Marinette’s movement stopped. She once promised him not to lie to him. Her brain lost for words. “Yes, you could say we do share the same blood.” Technically not a lie.   
  
        He kneaded his hands even harder. “You know she’s in my class and a close friend of mine,” he rambled. “And today a friend told me that she’d seen that Marinette cuts. All I wanted to do was visit her and talk to her.” His eyes wandered to the night sky. “I know, I am in no position to lecture her – since I am neither a family member nor is Chat Noir, someone, she knows – but I am her friend. I should be doing, at least, _something_. Do you know what I want to say?” His head cocked towards her just to meet an angry face.   
  
        Marinette chewed on the inside of her cheek and her brows were furrowed. How could Alya tell others about it? Wasn’t she supposed to be her best friend? Why in the name of god did she tell _Adrien_ about it? That was just plain unfair. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to remain calm.   
  
        “My lady?” Chat was closer, his head almost in front of hers. Confusion written across his beautiful face. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you earlier. You’re her family, you can help her better than me.”  
  
        ‘He didn’t know better,’ Marinette reminded herself. She didn’t want to be mad at him for something Alya did. ‘He doesn’t know you’re the one he’s talking about. He was worried about a friend and did the right thing – contacting someone close who’d care. But I can’t believe Alya told him.’ Looking up, she realized she hadn’t given him an answer. “It’s okay, chaton. I’ve already talked to her. She isn’t planning on doing that again but thank you for being concerned about her.” Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it before she placed her chin on his shoulder, taking a few breaths to relax. Her fingers automatically wandered into his hair and started stroking. “It really means a lot to me.”  
  
        Adrien leaned his head against hers. Blond locks tickled her cheeks. “Everything for you, my lady.”  
  
        Being near him felt so good. Well, it was kind of strange being so close to him while he was wearing his suit because in the short time she’d gotten used to having just Adrien around. It wasn’t a bad kind of strange; just the ‘the guy you like sits next to you in a skin-tight latex suit’-kind of strange. Something about his smell made her feel comfortable; not the perfume, he wore but his own personal smell. One breath and all the build up anger was blown away, leaving her with a strange calmness she wasn’t supposed to feel. “Thursday you’re going to be eighteen,” she pointed out just to say something. “Mind if I spend the evening with you? I’ve planned a little surprise.”  
  
        “I think we already established that you are always more than welcome,” he grinned at her even though she couldn’t see it as her face was still cuddling against his shoulder. “You know that having friends over always makes me happy, especially when they are red with black spots.”  
  
        ‘Yeah, _friends_.’ Marinette pulled back and flicked his forehead, trying to hide the sadness that suddenly washed over her. “I’ll better head back. Tomorrow’s school and I still need to finish something,” she mumbled and stood up. “Let’s see if my friends _finished_ or if I need to finish them.”  
  
        They stood there facing each other while she gave him a playful wink and he grinned. His ring gave off the first beep. “As much as I’d like to see that I too need to head home.” His claws scratched his nose. “I don’t want to have to explain to my dad or other people why the model Adrien Agreste is stuck on top of the Eiffel Tower. Not to mention in a forbidden area.” Adrien gave a slight bow. “Good night, my lady.”  
  
        She looked around if anyone was watching before she leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. A quite motherly gesture she’d gotten used to when she visited Adrien. “Good night, Adrien.”  
  
  
        Marinette made sure to be extra careful when she closed the window to her temporary home. It was dark and she made sure to hide under the blanket before releasing her transformation. Only small streaks of red light shone through the fabric until she was Marinette again. The girl grabbed her purse and watched her kwami eat her body mass in cookies.   
  
         ‘He said he’s glad having friends over… I am a friend. Just a friend,’ the memory hit her. “I should be glad that he said we’re friends, right?” she asked the small ladybug-like god. “It’s more than partners but yet less than lovers. It’s exactly what I wanted; exactly what we agreed on.” Marinette pulled her feet to her chest, holding back her tears as emotions washed over her.  
  
        She was angry with Alya, who told Adrien that she tried cutting. Adrien, the person who suffered from that for years!   
  
        Speaking of Adrien. She was angry with Adrien himself who had obviously cut today because she knew that guilty look he had earlier. Angry why he told her she shouldn’t do it when he while he was doing it; even if the sane part of herself told her that he was right about it.   
  
        But what bothered her the most was that she was angry with herself. Why did she play this game of hide and seek? Why didn’t she just give in to the urge to yell her identity as well as her feelings in his face? – ‘Because I’m afraid,’ she answered herself. ‘Because I’m afraid that after I said we should start off as friends, he degraded his feelings to just that. Because I’m afraid that he won’t like Marinette as much as whom I pretend to be when I’m Ladybug. Because I’m afraid I don’t know what I really want.’   
  
         “Tell me, Tikki, why does it hurt so much?”   
  
        The kwami flew up and hugged Marinette’s cheek. “I don’t know, Marinette, I am not human,” Tikki answered. “We kwamis don’t experience emotions like you do. We were born with our partners. Plagg is my Ying and I am his Yang. We aren’t made to feel a wide range of emotions; we don’t have fights, we don’t get jealous, we don’t feel love. We’re made to function and teach our chosen about their destiny.” With her small hand, she patted Marinette’s cheek. “But I’ve been around an awful lot of humans during all kind of centuries and you’re not the only one to experience this. Some details are different but it’s basically the same. You’re the youngest Ladybug ever and you’ve been through a lot in such a short period of time. It’s normal to be confused. You are allowed to not know what you want and you are allowed to be upset about it. But you really shouldn’t swallow your feelings or take them out on your body like you did a while ago. If you’re upset with something Alya, Adrien or basically every other human did, you should tell them.”  
  
        For a moment Marinette was silent and only the munching sounds of Tikki could be heard before Marinette kissed the head of her kwami. She still didn’t feel brave enough to confront Adrien with her feelings but she would talk to Alya. “Tomorrow…”, Marinette yawned and fell back on the bed. Even if she was angry right now she wouldn’t want to risk interrupting the couple and seeing things she would never be able to forget. After all, Nino did nothing wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I want to point out that Marinette doesn't change her mind every few minutes. ('I want him' or 'I don't want him') She's just young, under a lot of pressure and living through mood swings.   
> I don't know if my chapters really show that.


	20. Chapter 20

Waking up by a timer alone was hard enough for young Marinette Dupain-Cheng but if the timer got replaced by a hyped and barely clothed Alya it felt like hell had opened its gates. The brunette had yelled her name several times before kicking the door open and almost jumping on Tikki who spent the night on Marinette’s pillow. Luckily Alya ignored the kwami because she was too excited about her newest Ladyblog submission. “I told you! I.TOLD.YOU!” Alya screamed and punched Marinette way too hard on the injured arm. 

With a loud groan, Marinette pressed the balls of her hand against her eyes. Too much noise for her not yet functioning brain. “Tone down, will ya’?” She sat up and propped her back against the wood of the bed. 

“But look at this, Mari,” Alya pressed the phone to Marinette’s nose. Two pictures had been submitted to the Ladyblog. The Eiffel Tower and two persons sitting on top of then. Marinette knew the silhouettes because it was her and Chat Noir. Somebody had seen them the night before and taken shots when she was leaning on his shoulder and one when she kissed his forehead. “I told you they were dating!” Alya squeaked and Marinette pressed her hands against her ears. 

The blue haired girl felt her face flush with anger when she remembered what happened the day before. Her brain woke up from its frozen state as she began to scratch her arm absently. 

“Sorry, Mari!” A naked - really buck-naked - Nino appeared in the doorway. “I wanted to keep her from waking you up but she’s faster.” His eyes instantly locked on Marinette’s injured upper arm that was more than exposed in her pink spaghetti top. Marinette noticed it.

“God Nino, please get some clothes!” Alya yelled. “There are things girls don’t want to see in daylight!”

A sound that nobody ever heard before escaped Marinette’s throat. A growl, deep and dangerous. The girl balled her fists, she was done with everyone. “Get out.” Her voice was as sharp as a knife and startled her friends who looked at Marinette in confusion. 

“Mari?” Alya asked and put a hand on her best friends shoulder. ”What’s wrong?”

Marinette took a deep breath. “’What’s wrong?’ You really have the nerve to ask me that?” She shrugged Alya off. “You’re constantly watching me and you told Adrien I’m cutting. Adrien. Out of all people! How could you do that? I thought we were best friends! - No, wait, guess what, I'm going home. I am done.”

The blogger opened her mouth to say something but Marinette cut her off. 

“I said, GET!OUT!”

Alya had never seen Marinette that angry or hurt in general. She jumped out of bed and made her was out. Nino laid an arm around her as the two of them walked out. Marinette followed, closed the door and locked it. She fell down to the ground right after that, shaking from anger and exhaustion. Her movements froze as she caught sight of blood on her hands. Just a small amount mainly caused from her nails digging into her skin when she balled her fists earlier. She felt strangely calm. Was that what Adrien felt like when he did it? 

Almost mechanically Marinette grabbed for a long sleeved shirt and got dressed. Tikki sat on the windowsill and gave her a worried look. While getting dressed Marinette started to feel guilty. 

Her responsibility as a superhero was preventing akuma possessions but yet she had hurt her best friend just because she was angry. ‘She just wanted to help. I shouldn’t blame her for that.’ 

With her current state Marinette wasn’t quite sure if she could handle another akumatized-Alya right now. “I guess, I’ll have to apologize,” she mumbled as she packed her stuff into a bag. 

Torn apart between guilt and left-over anger the nervous wreck called Marinette left the guest room. She was determined to talk to her best friend but just found Nino sitting on Alya’s bed. “Thank god, you’re dressed,” Marinette sighed relieved. 

“Alya’s in the shower,” the boy stated matter of fact.

She shifted nervously in her position as he pointed for her to sit next to him. “Sorry for earlier,” she said bluntly. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

He scratched his neck. “I’m sorry too.” Nino looked at his friend. “You got a lot on your plate without all the Ladybug-thing. I should’ve stopped her earlier.” He patted her shoulder comfortingly. “If you want I can talk to her that she deletes the post about you and Adrien.”

Marinette shook her head. “It’s okay. Besides, how do you want to explain that?” She mimicked his posture and lowered her voice. “’Alya, could you take the post about Chat Noir and Ladybug down because that makes Marinette – who is definitely not Ladybug – feel uncomfortable?’ I think I’ll just have to live with that.” She let herself fall flat on the bed. She liked Nino because he was the only one not asking weird questions about the cuts.

Nino noticed the bag. “You’re moving back home?”

“Yup,” Marinette answered. “It’s not because of the argument but I really need time for myself. Plus I need to make more cookies and I can’t let Tikki hide all day.”

“Tikki?”

The red kwami popped its head out of Marinette’s pink purse and smiled. “Hello, Nino!”

“Nino, may I introduce you to my kwami?” Marinette smiled gently and patted Tikki’s head. “That’s Tikki; she grants me the power to transform.”

The boy waved awkwardly at the little god. “You sure do look cuter than Plagg.”

The tiny god put a hand on her hip and grinned. “Because I am way cuter than him! That nasty cat smells like cheese.”

“I see, you’re getting along! I'm glad.” Marinette rolled onto her side and gave a small chuckle before the kwami flew back into the purse. 

 

Only minutes later Alya stood in the doorway and both girls weren’t quite sure how to open up a conversation. Marinette’s hand rubbed her neck and she tilted her head. “Alya, I-I’m really sorry for yelling at you earlier.” 

The bluenette had prepared herself to get yelled at from Alya because honestly, she’d understand it. Without the context of her being Ladybug and especially without the information that Adrien is the mysterious, cutting boy, everyone would’ve been confused by Marinette’s sudden explosion. But instead of arguing Alya ran towards her best friend and knocked her over in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Mari,” Alya cried into Marinette’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have been such a pest. I did like all the things I told you not to do with your friend. I love you like a sister. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you!” Slowly Marinette’s eyes started to water too as she slung her arms around her best friend. “I love you too. It’s just a bit rough lately. I tink we all need a bit time for ourselves.”

Alya hummed into the hug. Suddenly another pair of arms slung around the two girls. Nino had leaned over them and enhanced the hug into a group hug. Even if he thought Marinette didn’t see it, he pressed a quick kiss in Alya’s hair, making the bluenette chuckle. “Now that everything’s sunshine and flowers again, can we get breakfast? I’m starving.”

“Nino!” 

“What?” He shrugged as they released the hug. “My body needs the nutrition. I spent my whole energy last night!”

Marinette felt the heat rise to her head in record time. She slammed her hands against her ears and started singing various lines. “La la la, I don’t wanna hear it, la la la!”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say something but I already forgot... Enjoy the new chapter I guess.

        As if someone had heard them complain about the heat, heaven decided to show them the rainy side of summer. Rain accompanied by thunder and storm haunted Paris the next day. Marinette worried about her feline partner who jumped in his seat every time heaven growled. Every now and then she managed to calm him with messages including cat puns and memes – even if he thought Ladybug sent them.  
  
        Marinette also made sure to bring her Polaroid camera along, taking pictures every now and then of Alya, Nino or Adrien when the storm had calmed down and they all were friendly joking. After all, Marinette was working on her present for Adrien and, therefore, she needed pictures to fill the empty frames.  
  
        The rain just got heavier and heavier. Fortunately, Marinette had brought an umbrella so she wouldn’t get wet on her way home. As school ended she took her time to pack books and everything else in her locker. She didn’t love rain but she loved the soothing sound rain made when it hit the ground. The school was almost empty when Marinette started her way home. She gasped in surprise when she found Adrien standing in front of the school as she came out. “Adrien?”  
  
        The boy jumped in shock. His body shaking from nervousness which Marinette assumed came from the storm. As he recognized her his hand wandered up to his chest. “Oh Marinette, it’s just you,” Adrien sighed relieved.  
  
         “What are you doing out here?”  
  
        He hated water but still got wet from the point where he was standing. This was the only place where he could watch the street for his driver. “I’m waiting for the Gorilla. He’s stuck in traffic.”  
  
         “Gorilla?” she repeated confused and opened her umbrella.  
  
        He flushed slightly and looked to the ground. “My driver,” Adrien explained embarrassed. His eyes widened in surprise when the usually shy girl, that hid behind curtains as soon as he said ‘hi’, appeared close next to him and shielded them both with her umbrella. “Thank you.”  
  
        She gave him her warmest smile and scratched up her last energy to produce words that actually made sense. Talking to him as Marinette was easier since they started growing closer but it still was a fight of her own. “T-That’s what friends are for, right?”  
  
        He smiled back at her. She couldn’t see how happy he was that Marinette considered him a friend. “Friends, yes,” his voice trailed off into nowhere as they both stood there and watched the rain. “I’m sorry, I’m detaining you from going home!” he suddenly realized and gave her an apologetic look.  
  
         “No, it’s okay.” Marinette rubbed her neck. “I’ve got nothing planned anyway and you looked like you hate storms so I thought I could wait with you until your driver comes.” As if her words were a magic spell the car stopped right in front of them. “Speaking of the devil,” she laughed and waved towards the black limousine with blackened windows. “See you tomorrow, I guess?”  
  
        Adrien’s hand darted towards her as she turned to go. “Wait, you’ve spent your time with me,” he began hastily. “How about we drop you off at home?”  
  
        Marinette considered her options. Option one: running home and still getting drenched to her underwear. Option two: taking Adrien’s offer but probably babbling nonsense for the next ten minutes. ‘Well, I don’t look forward to getting wet so’ “That sounds nice, Adrien.” Marinette nodded enthusiastically before she followed him into the car.  
  
        “Can we drop her off at home?” Adrien asked the guy behind the wheel. God, Marinette finally got why he called him Gorilla. “The bakery, you remember?” Adrien smiled satisfied when the giant nodded and started the car.  
  
        It wasn’t Marinette’s first time in Adrien’s private taxi. The last time she’d been in there was when her uncle was in France and Adrien helped her out with Chinese. But back then she didn’t really appreciate the car; she had been sulking because she couldn’t sit next to Adrien. Right now she couldn’t get enough of the sight. Everywhere were buttons. Small, colored, in weird shapes. She smiled and suppressed the urge to push all the buttons.  
  
         Adrien mustered the girl and couldn’t help but think about an excited child in a candy store. Would she judge him for his father’s habit to show off? And anyways was the feeling better? She cut after all. “Hey, Marinette –“  
  
        “C-Call me Mari,” said girl interrupted before she blushed slightly. “I mean, we’re f-friends. Marinette sounds so formal.”  
  
        He laughed – the most heartwarming laugh ever, in Marinette’s eyes – and continued, “Mari, has Alya always been so obsessed with the idea of Ladybug and Chat Noir dating?”  
  
        Marinette laughed sarcastically. “Ever since she found out Chat Noir is a guy.” She laughed at the memory when Alya first suspected Chat to be just a flat-chested girl, because of the round face and perfect skin. “She does not only ship them, she luxury cruises them. Alya ships them even harder than Chat Noir did.” Realizing the spilled information Marinette bit her lip. The ‘did’ was the biggest problem of her choice of words – how could Marinette possibly explain that she knew about Ladybug and Chat just being friends?  
  
        Adrien didn’t notice it. He smiled, glad that she finally started talking more than nonsense. “You know Chat Noir?”  
  
        “He saved me back when Nathanaël was possessed.” She pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.  
  
        Adrien started kneading his hands, looking like he wanted to say something but his brain couldn’t find the right words. Steadily breathing in and out, his hand rubbed over his stomach, causing Marinette to wonder if she’d done something wrong. “So,”, he took a deep breath. How do you ask a person what they think about you when they don’t know that it’s you you’re asking about? “What do you think about him?”  
  
        Marinette visibly relaxed because she thought he might want to say something weird but this question was really a piece of cake. She smiled and chuckled to herself. “Well,” she said, “he is a dork, a flirt and horribly reckless.” Her hand made a circular motion as Adrien got pale. “But I think he is the best partner for Ladybug. I believe that under the mask he is a really wonderful, loving person.”  
  
        It really looked cute as blood turned Adrien’s cheeks slightly pink. He was tempted to say ‘thank you’ but the feeling of Plagg in his collar reminded him that he couldn’t do that. “I didn’t know you were a fan of Chat Noir,” he chuckled. The car stopped at the bakery and Marinette gave him a sorry smile. “It was nice talking to you. See you tomorrow, Mari.”  
  
        Her mouth spread into an awkward grin as she waved goodbye. “See you!”  
  
        Adrien was left alone in the car. The car was started and he ran a hand through his locks. He contained a laugh as he saw that Marinette had forgotten her pink umbrella. It was still wet from their time in front of the school. Adrien smiled. Maybe he could talk to her again when he returned it the next day.  
  
        At that time, he didn’t know what negative surprise his father had for him.  
  
__________________________________________  
  
        With a loud thud, Marinette landed on her bed, her face hidden behind slender fingers. The smell of strawberries and mango shampoo filled the air around her. Her body still hot from the shower she’d just taken. “I really managed to talk to him without being totally awkward!”  
  
        “Progress!” Tikki chimed cheerfully, carrying Marinette’s phone in her tiny hands. “But you might want to take a look at this. It’s been buzzing since you came out of the shower.”  
  
        Marinette unlocked the phone, already alarmed as she saw the words “Silly Cat”. Her eyes quickly read through the text messages and immediately after that she called her kwami to transform her. She knew it. Every time things seemed to work quite good karma had to be a bitch.  
  
**[Hey]**  
 **[Can you come over?]**  
 **[Please]**  
 **[My father…]**  
 **[I really need you now]**  
 **[I’m going crazy]**  
 **[please help me]**  
  
[I’ll be there in five minutes], she typed as she grabbed her usual bag and threw her yo-yo towards the next building. Taking off faster than she had ever before.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien finds out

         “I’m sorry father, could you please repeat that?” the blonde model asked with a startled expression. Hands shaking as anger heated his blood. “I did not quite catch the last part.”  
  
        Gabriel Agreste, known in all of Europe for his beautiful designs and his never smiling face, held his stern expression. His lips were merely a line and his hands crossed behind his back. “You will be staying home tomorrow,” the man repeated, asking himself if his son was kind of retarded for not getting what he had said. “I already ordered your Chinese teacher to give you some extra work for tomorrow and assigned you for a piano lesson. Since it’s your birthday I did not sign you up for shootings –”  
  
        “But father, what about school?” Adrien interrupted, choking as if something stuck in his throat. Cold sweat ran down his back and his hands were shaking. Adrien was sure if he wouldn’t hold on tight on the table his knees would give away any second. “Why can’t I go to school?”  
  
         “And risk those good-for-nothing friends celebrate your eighteenth birthday with alcohol and probably drugs?” The man shook his head. “I don’t see a point in discussing this. You’ll be staying home.” With that, Adrien’s father turned around and made his way up to the second floor of the building.  
  
        Adrien ran straight to the bathroom attached to his bedroom and collapsed in front of the toilet. He vomited three times before the shaking got better. Still trembling he fished for his phone; mind clear enough to write a message. He felt like he’s slowly going insane. With his legs still wobbly he walked to his desk and grabbed the pencil sharpener. One of those cheap plastic things, where you didn't need a screwdriver, to detach the blade from its form. Adrien made a humming sound as he broke the blade out of it and lifted his shirt.  
  
        Usually, he was careful when he did this. He paid attention to how deep he needed to cut to create future patterns of his scars. This time, it was different. A burning sensation spread on his skin without the blade touching it. His body was working on his own; his cuts reckless and deeper than he wanted them to be. Escape. He wanted to escape.  
  
        Eventually his hand stopped working and let the metal fall to the ground. His eyes avoided the mess on his stomach. Hopefully Ladybug would turn up and stop him before he could do worse. For the first time in his life he was scared of his habit, scared what anxiety attacks could do to him. Adrien couldn’t resist the urge to run his hands over the harmed skin. His hands wandered up to his mouth where he started licking his hands excessively. This time he wasn’t enjoying the taste of iron on his tongue, he just thought he could make all the harm undone if he just got rid of the evidence.  
  
        Adrien didn’t know how exactly Ladybug had made her way into his room, neither did he notice when she was standing right behind him. All he knew was that when he finally turned around a desperate smile started spreading on his face. His eyes had problems adjusting his vision. “My lady,” his voice was a whisper and it took him a while to get that he was crying. “How did you come in –?” An unnecessary question because he didn’t care about how she got in. All that mattered was that she was with him now and judging from the bag underneath his window, she wouldn’t be leaving soon.  
  
        “I saw an unclosed window on the second floor, de-transformed, used the fire ladder and basically broke into your house.” Her hands wandered up to his face to cover each cheek. He shivered as ungloved fingers wiped away his tears. She pulled him down so their foreheads connected. “Minou, my precious minou,” Marinette whispered and tried to blink away tears.  
  
        He didn’t realize it earlier but she slowly pulled him to the bed. It was like time run slower when she was around. Adrien felt dizzy and let out a surprised gasp as Ladybug pulled off his shirt. A bit of rustling later Marinette had brought water, bandages and towels.  
  
        She started cleaning his stomach, trying not to look directly at the scars because she knew he felt uncomfortable. “I’m trying not to look, okay Chaton?”  
  
        Her fingers danced across his skin and Adrien felt himself relax under the soothing melody she was humming. It hurt when she disinfected the cuts but he didn’t blame her. He started talking to distract himself. Recalling everything his father had said and what had happened. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her angry expression. Her lips pressed together creating a thin line.  
  
        Marinette pulled him up and hugged him, burying her nose in the crook of his neck as both of them started to cry. “I’m staying the night,” she whispered as they both had calmed. “I’m not going to leave you alone.”  
  
        Shaken by sobs, his hands dug into the fabric of her fake suit. He nodded to show he’d understood. His hands were wet and he started to wonder how the blood from before could possibly still be wet until he realized it was her whole suit that was drenched in water. “My lady – ” he started, “You need to change. You’re going to catch a cold.”  
  
        Marinette blushed. “I- I think I forgot a change of clothes,” she mumbled, her breath tickling his skin.  
  
        “You could borrow some of mine.” The suggestion came shy and all the leftover blood in Adrien’s body rushed to his face. “D-Don’t worry, I won’t force you to put off the mask; I just don’t want you to get sick.” As soon as he gently pushed her aside to get a set of clothes for both of them, he already missed her touch.  
  
        Thirty minutes later Marinette came out of the bathroom, shaking and a little bit flustered. Her hair hung loosely without the trademark pigtails. The mask was still glued to her face but the fake suit was gone. Instead, Adrien’s top covered her upper body and the bottom part was covered by one of his boxer-shorts. Marinette blushed at the thought that Adrien had worn this sometime in the past but an uncomfortable feeling crept up as she saw that her cuts could be seen. She covered them with her hand.  
  
        Adrien choked on his own spit as he saw his hero approaching; his face the color of her suit. The clothes way too big for her small, slender body. Adrien made a mental note to never wash those clothes again.  He saw her rubbing her arms as she sat down on the edge of his bed. He instantly snuggled closer to her with his head on her left shoulder, “– are you cold?”  
  
        Marinette shook her head and gulped. She knew the day would come she had to tell him. “No, I’m not cold. It’s just,” her voice broke and forced her to inhale deep before continuing. Her blue eyes searching his. “Promise me you won’t freak out or blame yourself.”  
  
        All of his muscles tensed. His nose almost touched hers as he examined her expression. Adrien gripped her wrist and lowered the hand which was hiding her secret. He inhaled sharply.  
  
         “I – I tried it,” she stuttered as his face went through all kinds of emotions. “Honestly, I just gave it a try and I didn’t like it or so,” Marinette started rambling. She looked at the ground in shame and gave a surprised yelp as he hugged her tight.  
  
        She couldn’t do this. She wasn’t allowed to do this. She was a hero, a brave and powerful woman. She shouldn’t be doing the same as him.  
  
        “Cha-” she tried to catch her breath under his iron like grip. “Adrien, you’re hurting me.”  
  
        He loosened his grip slightly. “Promise me to never think about it again.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. No stupid puns, just dead seriousness. “You need to promise me, my lady.”  
  
        “I promise.”  
  
        At one point they fell backwards. That’s what they loved about each other; they could show their vulnerable sides and fears to each other. They just lay on the bed, hugging each other and inhaling each other’s presence.  
  
        “I’ll spend your birthday with you,” Marinette broke the silence and tried to cheer him up. “Any wishes? Baked goods?”  
  
        He turned his head and his eyes almost seemed to swallow her, even though they occasionally closed tiredly. “I want to run away with you,” he mumbled serious. “Away from all of this.”  
  
        Marinette hummed as she felt him drift off.  
  
        “But running away won’t solve our problems,” she whispered into the blonde locks. “I’ve been running away long enough to know that.”  
  
        Exhaustion drained both of them and Adrien was the first one to fall asleep, still holding on tightly to his lady. Marinette’s fingers were hidden in his hair, gently scratching his scalp. Even though she knew she shouldn’t feel happy about being this close to him, the vibration of his chest as he purred made her heart beat faster than ever. She shuffled in her position and tugged on the blanket until she was in a comfortable position and able to pull the blanket over them. Adrien’s ring hand was tangled up in her hair, occasionally stroking her ear.  
  
        The digital clock next to his bed showed 00:01. Tikki lay curled up right next to a snoring Plagg. The female kwami had beaten him up days ago for treating Adrien the way he did. Now everything was better. Marinette turned her mouth into Adrien’s hair. “Happy Birthday, Adrien,” she whispered and kissed the blonde mess. She saw the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile.  
  
         “I’m so glad you were born. I-I love you.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't finish the cover in time but at least, I finished the main part.  
> You can see it here [here](https://40.media.tumblr.com/0f2ac86dc18b4910afa300963ecb3d55/tumblr_o2tir26eFg1rtrmkio1_540.jpg)   
> Now have a nice night!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sorry, I was sick and working on another fic. Sorry, sorry, sorry for the wait.

 

        Sunshine fell through the window side of Adrien’s room and tickled Marinette’s nose. All that could be heard was light snoring from both teens who had managed to get even more tangled in their sleep. A buzzing sound cut through the silence and woke Marinette up. As usual, she tried to ignore the sound and nuzzled deeper in her pillow.   
  
         She froze as said pillow started to move and talk. “Just five more minutes, Plagg,” Adrien mumbled and buried his nose deeper in Marinette’s hair.   
  
        Marinette blushed furiously. ‘I spent the night in Adrien Agreste’s bed!’ Being the fangirl she was Marinette contained a squeak. The buzzing sound pissed her off so she wiggled out of Adrien’s grip to turn off whatever was making it. It turned out to be a phone call and she took it without looking which phone she had gripped.   
  
         “Dude, where are you?”, Nino’s voice blasted in her ear. “We said we’d meet up in front of school an hour before classes begin to celebrate your birthday! Everyone’s waiting for you!”  
  
        The blue haired girl yawned. “Nino, what are you talking about?” She just wanted to go back to sleep.  
  
        There was silence at the end of the line and only a few noises as if someone tried to get away to a secluded space. “Mari?” Nino sounded as if he couldn’t believe it.   
  
         “Yes –?”  
  
        “Why are you picking up Adrien’s phone?”  
  
        Her brain needed time to comprehend. She looked at the phone in her hands and back at the place where her own phone was charging before she held it up to her ear again. “Oh, well that’s because –”  
  
        “You spent the night with Adrien?!” You could hear how hard Nino tried not to freak out and Marinette assumed he only kept quiet because their classmates were waiting somewhere near him. “I’m glad you made it, girl, but honestly, where is birthday-boy?”  
  
        “Hell no, we didn’t hook up or so. You forgot he doesn’t even know who I am. I just spent the night at his because…” Marinette sighed because it made no sense to explain the situation. “He’s not going to come to school. His father won’t let him come to school and honestly –” She looked back at the curled up boy. “I think I’m skipping today, too. Can you cover up for me? Tell them I got sick or something.”  
  
        There was a sigh coming from the boy at the end of the line. “What about the party tonight?”  
  
        “Don’t worry, he still doesn’t know about it but we’ll come.” She ran a hand through her hair and noticed the mask had gotten loose on one eye. With the phone pressed between shoulder and ear, she put on new skin-friendly glue. “But I’m not quite sure if ‘Marinette’ is going to make it tonight.”  
  
        “Okay, got it,” Nino answered determinedly. “See you later.”  
  
        “See you later, Nino.”   
  
        After the call ended Marinette made sure to be careful when she put back the phone to its usual place. Knowing her bad luck with phones she didn’t want to risk destroying Adrien’s. After that, she crawled back under the sheets where his arms began to search her body until they found it. Adrien instinctively slung his arms around her. Marinette inhaled his breath and closed her eyes.   
  
         “Maybe just five more minutes won’t hurt anyone.”  
  
  
        Five minutes quickly turned into three hours. Adrien awoke when his kwami pulled his hair and whispered something about cheese. The first thing he noticed was warmth that wasn’t coming from his body. A quick glance confirmed that he wasn’t alone in his bed. Ladybug was lying next to him. “Bag” he informed the black creature as a blush crept across his face. Green eyes wandered back to the girl beside him, who had her nose buried in his chest. He felt every part of her body next to him. The blush in his face got stronger when he felt the softness of her chest at the height of his stomach, indicating that she wasn’t wearing a bra. In a desperate try to distract himself he fixed his eyes on her mask because popping a boner and probably waking her up with it just wasn’t an option.  
  
        This was _his_ lady. The girl he’d loved for so long; the girl that saved him from the suicidal thoughts he had back then; the girl that gladly called him _her_ kitten; the girl that he knew so well but not at all.   
  
        He wanted to know her identity so badly. She had dropped so many hints over the time but he couldn’t connect the dots. Damn, there was just a mask that was shielding him from seeing who she was. A goddamn mask he couldn’t erase in his brain. At this point, Adrien was sure that kwami magic existed. A certain kind of magic that made people unable to tell who was behind the mask of Paris’ superheroes.   
  
        The fingers of his free hand caressed her hands which were lying on his chest. Adrien unwillingly looked at the red streams on her arm and noticed the half moon wounds on her wrist. Whatever it was that had driven her to do this, he would make sure to never let this happen again. He saw her eyes twitch as his fingers ran over the wounds her nails had left.   
  
        Adrien didn’t know how long he’d been staring at her but soon green eyes faced blue ones that widened in shock. He greeted her with a chat-like grin. “Morning.”  
  
        Marinette scooted back. Did she really sleep _on_ him? How long had he been watching her? Did she sleep-drool on him? Her cheeks matched the color of her mask. “M-Morning,” she stuttered and tried to ignore his cute bed head. “H-Happy Birthday.”  
  
        Still grinning Adrien pulled her back to her old place and snuggled his nose in her hair. “That’s the best purr-esent I’ve ever gotten,” he squeaked to seemingly no one. “Can I keep you?”  
  
        She punched his shoulder and giggled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, kitty.” Her head fell back on his shoulder and she inhaled his scent. She could get used to this, his warmth next to her, his heartbeat in her ears.   
  
        He, on the other hand, could live with less stuttering from her side. It reminded him of Marinette and thinking of your classmate while cuddling with the love of your life wasn’t really something he should be proud of. But he loved the cuddling as much as the girl in his arms. After a quick check of time, he sat up and sighed. “My Chinese lesson is about to start in an hour.”  
  
        “I know.” Marinette rolled around, pulling the blanket over her head. “Then you should take a shower and get ready, handsome boy.” Her voice was playful and teasing. “I’m gonna sleep just five more minutes.”   
  
        Adrien growled and took the bait. He leaned forward and pulled the blanket away, exposing a curled up ladybug. He tried not to stare at her butt that got underlined by her position. She squeaked as he grabbed her by the hips and tossed her over his shoulder. “Shh, my Dad’s home, I think,” he warned her. “And you’ll need to get dressed too because this is the ‘classroom’, my lady!” With the girl kicking over his shoulder he made his way to the bathroom. “We still need to figure out where you can hide.”  
  
        “Why not let me attend?” the girl teased.   
  
        Adrien put her down in the bathroom and searched for spare towels. “And what should I tell him? ‘Oh this is Ladybug, she’s a friend of mine and very interested in learning Chinese’?” He scoffed and patted her shoulder. “Make sure not to fall asleep again, my lady. I’d rather not have to explain to Nathalie or my father why I’m dragging a sleeping and naked girl out of my bathroom.”  
  
        Marinette puckered up her lips and pouted as he closed the bathroom door with one last wink. “Unbelievable,” she muttered and pulled Adrien’s shirt off her just to notice that her bra and a new pair of panties were out of reach. Sighing she pulled the towel around herself and poked her head put on the door. She heard the rustling of clothes that told her Adrien was changing. No way she would call him out to give her the needed underwear. Neither was going out and getting it herself an option.   
  
        ”Tikki!” Marinette slapped her hand against the wooden door, waking up the red kwami. “Come here!”  
  
        The tiny creature rubbed its eyes and yawned. “Marine–”   
  
        The name died under the warning glare of the bluenette. “I need my bra and some panties, please!” Marinette pleaded.   
  
         The kwami sighed. “I’m going to get it. But I’m going to tell you exactly what I saw if I see a naked Ad–”  
  
       “Just go already,” Marinette whined now totally red in the face.  After the snickering kwami came back, the girl took a quick shower and jumped in her fake suit. She adjusted the mask on her face and put on a little bit of makeup before she got out of the bathroom. But the room was empty. She tucked her wet hair behind her ear.   
  
          “Adrien?”  
  
         Nobody answered. Fear crept up in the insecure, little girl. Where was he? Where were Tikki and Plagg? What if he had another anxiety attack or ran away?   
  
          “Plagg? Tikki?”She asked a little louder. Her hand furiously scratched her neck. “Adrien?”  
  
         Two strong arms wrapped around her waist and Marinette let out a shrill scream. Wet blonde locks touched her cheek and green eyes lured at her.  “Yes, my lady?”   
  
         Marinette punched him hard in the shoulder after she recovered from the trauma. “Damn idiot, where were you? I thought something happened,” she muttered. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!”  
  
         Rubbing his injured shoulder he walked around her and smirked at the pouting girl. “Your wish is my command,” he said bowing in front of her. “I was in the bathroom down the corridor since my lady was blocking mine.”  
  
          “It’s not like I wanted to block yours!” The way her cheeks puckered up was just too cute. The way she blushed at his opened up shirt and she view of his chest above the bandages was cute too. “Anyways back to the topic. I don’t need to hide during your Chinese lessons. I remembered I need to get home, pack your present and make a few important calls,” she explained and looked to the ground as he made no signs of buttoning up his shirt. “I’ll be back by noon, okay?”  
  
         He threw himself into her arms theatrically. “My lady brought me a present? That wasn’t necessary but your kitty feels so loved!” His cheek rubbed against hers.  
  
         There it was. The teeny tiny word with powers almost as strong as the powers their transformation gave them. Marinette cleared her throat loudly causing him to back away. “I’ll be going now.” She called for Tikki and transformed. Before she could throw her yo-yo out of the window she turned around for one last smile. “You’re still free to hang out tonight, right?”  
  
         Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “We could watch movies or go swimming in the basement. Dad’s flight goes off in an hour and maybe Nathalie will let me order pizza for the both of us.”   
  
         Leaning forward she pressed a kiss to his forehead and winked at him. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got something planned for the both of us,” she ensured. “I’ll be off. See you later, kitty!”

  
  
          


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mari makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing: Adrien starts feeling better and I get a full punch back in recovery. Life is strange. Maybe it's the stress. I'm having an English exam tomorrow where they'll tell me on which level I'm speaking English. But I'm a shy potato so I'll probably stutter my way through it. 
> 
> Anyways, have fun with the new chapter.

        Marinette used her time home to bake a cake and other sweets for the evening. Honestly, she had never planned on staying during his Chinese lesson as she found it boring. She may have Chinese genes but that didn’t mean she had to learn the whole damn language. Marinette rather spent her time home instead of listening to a pro she would never understand.   
  
        At home, she decided to finally tell him. After the party, she would reveal herself. There were only two chances of what could happen: He could either take it well and start befriending Marinette or he could take it badly and would abandon her. Either way, she’d take it like an adult – or maybe change her name to Pepito and leave France.   
  
        There was no sense in continue lying to him and herself. Nino came during lunch break, collecting everything she had made.   
  
         “Why aren’t you with loverboy?” he teased.  
  
        Marinette slapped his shoulder. “NI _NO_!” She frowned. “We aren’t lovers.”  
  
        He held up his hands in defense. “I know, just joking.” With a sigh, Nino sat down on the couch in the living room of Marinette’s family. “But Mari, as much as I love you, you need to tell Adrien one day,” the boy explained nervously. “He is my best friend and even though he says he’s okay with not knowing your true identity I think it’s eating him up too.”  
  
        Marinette looked at her shoes, knowing that he was right. “Tonight,” she mumbled. “I’m planning on telling him tonight.” Knowing herself she left out the part ‘If I’m not chicken out’.   
  
        Nino scooted over to her, hugging her supportively. “I’m proud of you, Mari.”  
  
        The girl made a face, remembering far too much from Nino from the time when she was staying with Alya. “Could you please, uhm, _personal space_?” Both fell into awkward silence as they parted. Suddenly her shoelaces became very interesting.   
  
        Deciding that a functional conversation just wasn’t possible right now, Nino stood up. “I guess we’ll see each other tonight?”  
  
         “See you later, Nino!”  
  
  
  
         Before Nino got out of the bakery, he left a note with the time and his address so she had something to show Adrien if he asked suspicious questions. After all, the reveal should be after the party. Nino had claimed that he ‘didn’t want to risk having entertaining a shocked Adrien in a crowd of people’. Marinette just went with the flow and nodded along. After he left, she called Alya to feed the lie of her being ‘sick and not able to come to Adrien’s party later’. Needless to say, her best friend wasn’t happy with that.   
  
         Marinette reached the Agreste Mansion just in time to see Gabriel Agreste leave with a suitcase and his secretary. She gave out a relieved sigh. ‘Nobody will notice if we’re away,’ she thought with a grin.   
  
____________  
  
         Adrien had left open the window on the second level of his room. He had told his piano teacher that he needed the fresh air which wasn’t a total lie. In between the lessons his father had shown up to give him his present. A really special event because since his wife left Gabriel Agreste has never spent a minute with his son on his birthday. Even though his father is a cold man, Adrien couldn’t help but smile. He loved his father after all.  
  
         His present had been a full free week – the upcoming week and the first week of summer holidays to be precise – without anything planned. A week the new adult should spend in their beach house on the French coast. After a few minutes of silence in which Gabriel planned to go, Adrien had brought up the bravery to ask an important question. “Father, if – just _if_ – I had a girlfriend would you allow me to take her to our beach house?”  
  
         Gabriel froze. He shot a questioning glare towards Nathalie who just shrugged an ‘I don’t know about a girlfriend’. “Is there anyone I should know about, Adrien?” The designer’s voice was stern.   
  
         The son blushed. “No, not yet but – ” Adrien stuttered. He knew his father hated that. With all of his energy he had taken a deep breath and scratched his stomach. For the first time in his life, he wanted to face his father; he wanted to show him that with his 18 birthday he had become an adult. “There’s a girl I really like and I plan to ask her out.”  
  
         No one could read Gabriel’s expression but inside of his head he was already considering to disinherit his son. He knew the day would come where his son would fall for someone. “Is it Chloé Burgoise?”  
  
         Just the thought of it made Adrien cringe. “No!”  
  
         The relieved sigh from Gabriel surprised not only himself but also his secretary and his son. As much as he craved the reputation and power from the mayor, Gabriel didn’t know if he could handle her – _special character_. She was noisy, loud and everything his son wasn’t. He gave an approving nod. “As long as you introduce me to her, you are allowed to have a girlfriend and take her with you.”  
  
         As his father closed the door, Adrien ran to his window and screamed in excitement. His piano teacher scolded him with a glare. Now all he had to do was convince Ladybug to tell him who she is by the start of the next week.   
  
          _And introduce her to his dad!_  
  
         Adrien frowned as he took place in front of the piano. He did not think that one through. But it would work out. He and Ladybug could spend a whole week together, go swimming, eat ice cream and do things couples do. Another thought made him frown _.  
  
_           _‘If she says yes…’  
_  
         His teacher started off with an easy play, letting him warm up. Halfway through the second play, Adrien noticed Ladybug’s smell. She smelled like cinnamon and cookies and love. A smile spread on his face and he switched to playing a slightly harder play. He left his teacher gaping at the suddenly overly happy teenager.   
  
         Marinette sat down and leaned her back against one of the bookshelves. Her big bag on the floor right beside her. The melody was soothing and she never expected Adrien to be so skilled. Her eyes closed as she totally relaxed. Eventually, Tikki released the transformation, leaving the dozen off Marinette in her hiding spot to sneak off to Plagg.  She didn’t notice as the music stopped and the teacher said his goodbyes to Adrien. She shrieked as Adrien suddenly appeared in front of her with a cheeky grin.   
  
         “You are amazing,” she breathed out without thinking. “I mean – uhm – your music is amazing?” The urge to hit her head against something solid build up inside of her. Why did she always seem to mess up her sentences when she was around him? Her arm darted into the bag, bringing out a Polaroid camera. _Distraction_ was the first thing that came to her mind. “Say _cheese_!”   
  
         Adrien cringed at the word as the camera clicked and started printing. “Anything but stinky cheese, please, my lady!”  
  
          Marinette chuckled, waving the picture until the result could be seen. She hoped for him to look goofy for once. “Damn, you still look good,” she cursed.   
  
         Running a hand through his hair, Adrien started to grin. “Well, _I am_ a model after all!”  
  
         “That is _so_ unfair,” Marinette muttered to herself. “I always look bad in surprise pictures.”  
  
         With a _thud_ , Adrien landed on the ground beside her. His arm brushed hers and she could smell his shampoo. “Oh Bugaboo,” he cooed and took the camera from her. It felt like he had seen the exact same camera before. “I’m sure you look _paw_ -positively hot in every picture.” With that, he lifted his arm and snapped a picture before Marinette could comprehend what he had said.   
  
         In her eyes, the picture looked awful. With her face red as the fake mask and her lips forming a shocked ‘o’; she felt like a dork next to Adrien with a Chat-like grin and she made no effort in hiding her opinion.   
  
          “Give it to me. I look horrible,” she demanded. Marinette wanted to take the picture away from him which ended in a small fight because _like hell he would give away this precious picture_. She was hovered above him, spitting out various threats.   
  
         But Adrien put up a good fight. “No, that’s my first selfie with Ladybug. Like hell, I’m going to give it away!” His lips pursued in a pout as she continued to make grabby hands at him. In the end, Adrien won by simply sticking the picture in his pants and giving her a look, _If you want it you gotta take it_.   
  
          Marinette groaned, throwing her hands up as she leaned back to sit on his thighs. “Okay, you won, Chaton, but just because it’s your birthday,” Marinette exclaimed. “But you can’t show anyone! It would just raise questions if I started taking selfies with a civilian in _his own_ room!”  
  
          “I _purr_ -omise!” Adrien clutched the picture close to his heart.   
  
         While his lady groaned, the boy looked down at the picture. If one looked closely a slight blush could be seen on Adrien’s cheeks. He had many pictures of himself with Ladybug taken from reporters after akuma attacks but this one was special. Not just because it showed him as Adrien. His lady had blushed and that was a goal that made his chest swell with pride. He’d treasure this picture forever and maybe – just maybe – Ladybug would take more pictures with him. Maybe with him as Chat so he could pin it to one of his frames. If someone asked why he had a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir he would just say it was because he liked the superheroes so much.   
  
          “… – kitty?”  
  
         Shit, he had dozen off. “I’m sorry, I didn’t listen,” he excused himself sheepishly. “What did you just say?”  
  
         “I asked why you were so happy before.”  
  
          “Can’t a man be happy when he gets _purr_ -etty visitors?” Adrien rubbed his cheek against her shoulder. She shoved him off giggling. He kneaded his hands. “My father came and gave me a present. Personally! He never did that before,” he said proudly.   
  
          He gulped when Marinette threw herself into his arms, cheering for him. “I am so happy for you,” she exclaimed and kissed his cheek in joy. They froze before blood pumped into both of their faces. She had kissed his forehead before but this felt ten thousand times more intimate.   
  
          While she hid her face in one hand, Adrien looked at her and started laughing. His shoulders went up, the corners of his mouth followed and he had happy tears in his eyes. “My day just keeps getting better and better.”  
  
          “Don’t get a heart attack on me when you get the first part of your present, handsome boy,” Marinette chuckled and Adrien tilted his head. “A certain boy – let’s call him Nino – told me that his best friend never had a real birthday party.”  
  
          From her point of view, his face was just hilarious. The nerves in his brain were working really hard to comprehend what she had hinted. Then a smile cracked his face.  
  
          “I suggest you get ready to party and transform so we’re not late.” A chuckle escaped her lips as he started jumping up and down before rushing down to his closet.   
  
          “Bugaboo!” he yelled up to the second level where she was still fidgeting with her hands and making her way down. Adrien appeared so suddenly in front of her that she gasped in surprise. The fact that he had stripped down his top and shirt weren’t really helping her situation. “What does one wear to a party?”   
  
          Even if she taunted herself to look away, her eyes were glued to the scarred skin. Marinette slapped a hand in front of her eyes as he caught her gaze. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.”  
  
          Adrien was shocked by himself. All this time he had carefully hidden his body from people. Even Ladybug had never seen it without it being an accident. But now her presence felt so comfortable that he let his guard down. With shaking hands he gently pulled away her wrists. “It’s okay, you know,” he mumbled shyly avoiding her eyes. “I-I really don’t mind if you see it.” One of his hands rubbed his neck nervously as he continued. “ _I trust you, LB_.” Adrien’s smile was shy, unsure but still held a bit of Chat in it.   
  
          Blue eyes widened and pain ran through her stomach. He trusted her. He _really_ trusted her. She knew all of his secrets. And even if he didn’t know who she was, he trusted her. Did he have feelings for her?   
  
          “So,” he tried to change the subject with a smile, “What do I wear? A suit is purr-haps a little bit too much.”  
  
          Marinette shook her head, trying not to get her hopes up. “Let me have a look at what you have,” she chuckled.   
  
_______________________________  
  
          About two hours later the superheroes arrived at Nino’s house. An akuma had decided to appear just as they had jumped out of the window. Taking him down was really easy since Hawk Moth seemed to lack connection to his current victim. Something seemed to distract him. They defeated the akuma quickly but they were still an hour late.   
  
          Adrien had raised his eyebrow as she showed him Nino’s address. This wasn’t the first time he got suspicious of her. First: Where did she get it? Second: Why did she need it when she had already visited him the time he was with Nino? But he didn’t say a word and de-transformed near his best friend’s house.   
  
          Nino really lived up to his dream of becoming a DJ. Music – even if it came from the basement – could be heard probably in a radius of at least 5 kilometers. He had told Marinette that his parents were out for the night after he had explained Adrien’s situation.   
  
          The heroine turned her head around to look at Adrien who looked even more beautiful in the light of the street lamp. Her hands trembled on the windowsill which Nino had left open for them. “Ready, kitty?”   
  
          Adrien gulped and nodded. He followed her down to the basement. Another thought crossed his mind: How did she manage to orientate in Nino’s home?  
  
________________________________________________________  
  
          Nino had heard of the new akuma attack and it took all of his energy to keep Alya from running into the action. The guests were waiting for Adrien but he couldn’t tell them that he was currently fighting against a new akuma with Marinette. “Where are you, Mari?” he mumbled.   
  
          Then the door opened and Adrien came inside. The crowd cheered and yelled their best wished to the birthday boy. Anyways, they quickly shut up and gasped as they saw the red spotted heroine leaning in the doorway. A smug grin on her face, she turned to Nino and winked.   
  
          Alya, who was currently hugging Adrien, made a sound like she was about to faint.  
  
           Marinette chuckled and couldn’t hide a blush. “You know, people usually ask me to bring presents to birthday parties but being asked to bring the main guest is totally new to me.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author doesn't know how to write drunk characters because she's lacking experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CHEERING ME UP HERE AND VIA TUMBLR. I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! I FEEL WAY BETTER AFTER TALKING TO A FEW OF YOU.
> 
> And yeah, they're getting drunk and since I have never been really drunk in my entire life I don't know if I described them right in this and the next chapter.

         “Oh my god,” Alya gasped. Her eyes switching between Adrien and Ladybug as they would have in a game of speed-tennis. She gripped Adrien’s shoulders with iron like fingers. He feared that his bones would break any moment. “You’ve been escorted by Ladybug!”  
  
         ‘What would you say if you knew we spend the night in the same bed?’ Adrien chuckled in his head. Alya would probably kill him. Well, he was Chat Noir after all. If Alya knew she would kill him rather for that reason.  
  
         “Please don’t crush the poor boy,” Marinette interrupted worried. “I’d have no idea how to explain  _that_  to his father.”  
  
        Literally everyone was staring at her and after Alya had let go of Adrien the Ladyblogger bombarded Marinette with questions. Said hero sighed. “I’m not here to do interviews, sorry,” the spotted hero excused herself. She flexed her hand in Adrien’s direction. “It’s his birthday so please celebrate with him while I stand here and try to eat my body mass in cake.” The crowd gladly followed her order and practically dragged Adrien to the middle of the room to dance.  
  
        Alya trembled next to Nino who tried to calm his maybe-maybe-not-girlfriend. “I can’t believe I’m going to spend an evening with Ladybug!”  
  
        “Here,” Nino pressed a bottle of darkish liquid in her hands. “Drink this and shut up.” He jokingly kissed her hair and wandered off to Marinette, who cut herself a piece of cake.  
  
         “Sorry for being late.” Her voice was a murmur. “Work and stuff.”  
  
        “I know, you two have been all over the news,” Nino chuckled. He watched the heroine pour herself some punch before his hand shot up. “I wouldn’t drink it if I were you?”  
  
        “Why? Is it poisoned?”  
  
        “No–” he answered sheepishly rubbing his neck. “But drunk driving already is bad enough. I don’t want to imagine what could happen if you’re drunk yoyo-ing.”  
  
        Blue orbs widened as she slammed down the cup, causing Myléne to look at her. Marinette gave an excusing look and yanked Nino to the side. “Don’t tell me you’re giving out alcohol?” Marinette hissed. “NINO, do you know what will happen if anyone finds out I’m bringing the son of a designer to a party where a bunch of minors are getting drunk?”  
  
        “Then you don’t want to drink the other spiked punch…” Nino’s voice was barely hearable. But she heard it.  
  
         “Are you fucking kidding me?” The groan she let out caused Myléne to come over and ask if everything is okay. “Yeah, everything is fine,” Marinette assured and yanked Nino further away from the crowd. “I swear if you give anything to Adrien I’ll throw you from the Eiffel Tower and make sure you die when hitting the ground.”  
  
        With that, she left him alone. Marinette was furious. How irresponsible could Nino be? This party was supposed to be fun, yes, but the fun doesn’t have to mean drugs and alcohol – exactly what Gabriel expected. The hero kept a close eye on her blonde partner who enjoyed himself. Somewhere in between, she saw Nino putting away a bowl of punch and she thanked the gods for that.  
  
___________  
  
        Whatever Alya was drinking, it smelled horrible and made her act even sillier than usual. Adrien’s sensitive nose crunched. “A-Alya, do you know where Marinette is?” His question was shy. Marinette was a friend and he somehow missed her.  
  
        “Oh, she’s sick apparently,” the redhead explained. “Hasn’t been to school today, but she made the cakes and cookies.”  
  
        “Ah!” He remembered. Even if he had dropped her in front of the bakery she must’ve gotten wet. It was his fault that a friend of his was sick. Guilt crept through his abdomen. He would have to call her and apologize… and thank her for the baked goods.  
  
____________  
  
        By 10 pm the guests decided upon a new activity. A few had already left because the next day may be the last day before the holidays but still a school day. Around ten people were left – Nino, Alya, Rose, Juleka, Alix, Kim, Max, Nathanaël, Adrien and Marinette herself. While the not-heroes and the undercover-hero sat down on the ground explaining truth or dare to Adrien, Marinette held herself in the background, feeding the cat kwami that refused to stay under Adrien’s shirt while he was ‘wiggling around’ (she was sure he meant dancing). At this point Alya was drunk and Nino slurred too. Kim was already on the verge of passing out and Nathanaël nipped at his drink with blushed cheeks.  
  
        “You’re allowed to have fun too, you know? You should join them, kiddo.” Plagg flew behind her pigtails and noticed her longing stare. “What’s the worst that could happen? Four of them are drunk, one of them trusts you with his life and the rest seems nice too.”  
  
        “But Alya could notice who I am…” Her head played various nightmares. One worse than the other. “She knows me best.”  
  
        “You’re such a party-pooper.”  
  
        “Shut up, Plagg.”  
  
  
         A hand on her shoulder caused the spotted hero to jump. She visibly relaxed as she realized it was just Adrien getting some cake. “Everything okay?” he asked gently, shoveling a fork full of cake in his mouth. “Plagg’s not bugging you, right?”  
  
        She gave a dry laugh. “Hah.” _Bugging…  
  
_         “Do you want to join us? I don’t understand the whole game but it sounds fun and you too are a guest at my party. I’d feel bad if you just stood here all night.”  
  
  
        In the end, she sat down with the group, declaring she would consider taking part in the game as long as the questions stayed out of her personal space and safe for work. She did not need another sex story from a certain redhead. She made clear that she wouldn’t give dares or ask questions, she needed to stay professional after all. If it was her turn to ask or dare someone, she would give it to the next person.  
  
        Alya took place right next to her, giggling like a Japanese schoolgirl. To her other side, Rose and Juleka sat down. And so the game began. Much to Marinette’s surprise, truths and dares were shot just between their classmates, leaving her out of it. She had time to watch Adrien smile while watching the game. Of course, Kim had to dare everyone but it mostly got ignored. Of course, questions got intimate and over the time, it wasn’t just asking but talking a few minutes about the asked topic.  In fact, nobody cared about the rules anymore and somehow everyone was asking crisscrossed through the room.  
  
        “Ladybug, have you ever stolen anything? If yes, what?” Someone asked her as the topic came up.  
  
        Marinette coughed on a cake crump. “Phones… I’ve taken three phones,” she admitted. “But I’ve given them back!”  
  
        The group laughed. Nino laughed the loudest and her eyes shot daggers at him. He had filmed everything. Oh, she would _so_ kick him off of the Eiffel Tower. “Make it four phones,” she grumbled.  
  
  
        It was Alya who shot the second question at Marinette, who comfortably chose truth. “Who was the first person you kissed?” Alya’s voice slurred. “Oh, I bet it was Chat Noir!”  
  
        Marinette’s face suddenly felt really hot as she looked down and nodded. A blush crept up her neck. “When Kim got akumatized,” she nuzzled in her non-existing beard. Oh god, she had never thought she would admit this in front of Chat Noir himself.  
  
        Some people commented it with a teasing “oh” but Adrien stared at her. Nino and his best friend exchanged panicked views; having a mental conversation.  
  
        _Dude, you kissed her? – I DON’T KNOW. I DON ‘T REMEMBER!!! – YOU CAN’T FORGET YOU KISSED HER! – I DON’T KNOW!! - GET YOUR FRICKING ASS UP AND KISS HER AGAIN! - I CAN'T DO THAT! - YES YOU CAN! - NI~ **NO** \- NI~ **YES!**  
  
_         Marinette avoided Adrien’s eyes which lingered on her. She would’ve attempted to hide in her hands but that would raise more questions. Luckily drunken Alya decided to dare Kim to kiss Alix, said boy shot the same dare back just with Alya and Nino. Suddenly everyone was shooting dares, kissing cheeks, lips and necks until –  
  
         “I dare Ladybug to kiss Adrien!”  
  
        Nobody really knew who yelled it – Marinette angrily suspected Nino but she wasn’t sure about it – but everyone went dead silent. Several pairs of eyes remained on the pair. Plagg snickered in her hair, making her desperately want to slam him against a wall. ‘Oh come on, it’s his birthday,’ her head told her. ‘It’s not like you haven’t thought about it before.’  
  
        Adrien wasn’t sure if it was the beat of the music or his own heartbeat that made the walls shake but if it was the second option he was sure he’d die any minute. He had heard Nino yelling the dare. Adrien sighed internally. Little did Nino know that Ladybug just saw him as a friend. She would never kiss him – well except for that one time but that didn’t count because he was hit by an akuma. The bigger was the shock when the spotted hero leaned forward towards him. ‘This is a one-time chance! TAKE IT LIKE A MAN, AGRESTE!’ He clenched his fists also leaning towards her.  
  
        Pink, plush lips came closer when –  
  
        _beep beep beep beep_  
  
        – Tikki ran out of energy.  
  
        Marinette slapped a hand against her ear, jumping to her feet. Tikki always left a few warnings before she de-transformed but this time, she only gave one. “I’m sorry, I need to recharge,” she excused herself and ran off to the bathroom. Fortunately, no one questioned why she knew where the bathroom was.  
  
        She left behind a crimson model and a group of not-so-sober teenagers who continued their game as if nothing happened. No one noticed the laughing Plagg on the ground, hugging a slice of cheese.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Kisses, selfies and Adrien figuring something out.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally approaching the end! About five to seven chapters left (two and a half of them already finished).   
> By the way, I finished this fanfic's cover.   
> http://anotherdemonexorcist.tumblr.com/post/140926034237/i-want-to-run-away-with-you-away-from-all-of
> 
> Since somebody asked me if they could draw scenes of this fic, YES, PLEASE! THAT WOULD MAKE ME SO HAPPY! SEND ME EVERYTHING! I'LL FEED YOU CHEESE AND COOKIES!

        Laughter and giggling filled the room, spreading the feeling of happiness and love. Adrien smiled gently as he watched his classmates interact. But something was missing. Well, not something, someone. Marinette.   
  
         “Alya?” Adrien nudged her shoulder and lead her away from the group, noticing her tipsy behavior. “Do you happen to have Marinette’s number?”  
  
        Her perfect brow shot up. “Why?”  
  
        Adrien shrugged. “I just wanted to call her and make sure she’s okay. It’s maybe my fault that she’s sick.”   
  
        “S-Sounds risonbable... raisinnipple... reasonable,” the wasted blogger said and worked on her phone.  
  
___________  
  
        “Shit, Tikki!” Marinette cursed and curled up in Nino’s bathtub. Her hands caressed the fish on the shower curtain. ”That’s the wrong order,” she muttered as Tikki munched on her cookie while enduring Marinette’s breakdown. “I am supposed to reveal myself to him and then we kiss, not the other way around!”   
  
        Marinette groaned loudly and hid her face with her forearms. “Why am I doing this again?”  
  
        A knock on the door. “You okay there, Bug?” Nino’s voice came through. He may be drunk but he still cared for his friend.   
  
         “She’s okay,” Tikki assured. Marinette groaned again. No, she wasn’t okay. “She’s just having a teeny tiny mental breakdown. Nothing to worry about. Happens quite often lately.”  
  
____________  
  
        Adrien looked at his phone in confusion. The contact already existed.   
  
        _Do you want to update the contact “LB <3”?_  
  
        Blonde locks flew in his vision as he shook his head. That must’ve been a mistake. He must’ve typed the wrong number. Marinette and Ladybug were family but why would Marinette use Ladybug’s phone? Was this some kind of prank?  
  
        But now that he thought about it, maybe Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. Everything started to make sense. Marinette had stopped being tense around him as Ladybug started comforting him. Marinette had cut just like Ladybug. Only Marinette would’ve been able to sew a copy of her own suit. Even if this was just a theory it seemed right.   
  
        His heart stopped a beat. ‘Maybe Ladybug has been sitting behind me all these years.’ He thought. ‘Maybe Ladybug is the awkward girl that couldn’t act normal around me.’  
  
        Adrien looked to the door through which she had left. Another thought struck him. While he absolutely loved Ladybug he had to ask himself: Did he love Marinette as well? And what if both of them just wanted to be friends with him.  
  
        Sure thing, Marinette was cute and intelligent and such a good friend but she had always been – by no offense – kind of a wallflower to him. The total opposite of Ladybug who he fell in love with. Then he remembered her words.   
_  
“I’m nothing like that. Maybe Ladybug is all of that, but the girl behind the mask is not. I am just an ordinary girl. That’s why I wanted to keep my identity a secret. I am not what you expect me to be.”_  
  
        Plagg flew out of his collar as the boy seemed to have stopped breathing for about a minute. The kwami checked his confused face and the alert that had popped up on the phone. As if he had read Adrien’s thoughts he shook his head. “So you finally figured out, huh?” He spoke to himself. “Took you long enough.”  
  
        Adrien tugged his hair in confusion. Now that his mysterious lady had a name he could connect her to everything seemed harder. “What do I do now, Plagg?”  
  
        The black kwami shrugged. His eyes said something along the lines of ‘That’s why I prefer cheese over girls’ while sighing. “Dunno. Chill? Wait and see what happens next? You don’t even know for sure. Wait and see if she tells you. Easy peasy.”  
  
_______________  
  
        When Ladybug left the bathroom Adrien was already sitting down with the others. He’d given Alya a poor excuse that Marinette wasn’t picking up. He was stiff. Marinette noticed it. Around three am everybody was in a state of being awake and sleeping.   
  
        Adrien looked at Ladybug. “Nathalie comes home around 4. I have the bad feeling she plans to check my room soon.” His voice was shaking as he lied to her. Actually, he just wanted to go and talk to her alone.   
  
         Ladybug nodded. “Understood.” A few minutes later she rose to her feet. “I think it’s our time to leave. Model-boy needs to get home, I need to sleep and if I remember right, you guys have school tomorrow, too.” There it was, her superhero responsibility kicked in. She watched Adrien walk through all the hugs the others gave him and heard the goodbyes. She was shocked when everybody wanted to hug her as well. She endured it and her heart skipped a beat when Alya slung her arms around her. Her best friend didn’t notice who she was hugging. “Get some sleep,” Marinette chimed as she left with Adrien. The pink camera she had brought still in her hand.   
  
        As soon as they came to a place hidden from prying eyes, Adrien transformed. He was silent, his muscles tense. Marinette laid a hand on his arm. As much as the whole situation confused him, he longed for her touch. So he reacted on instinct and pulled her into a hug.  
  
         “Kitty?” Her nose hit his chest and a blush crept up her neck. “You okay?”  
  
        Marinette, Ladybug – he shouldn’t think about that. He should respect her boundaries of keeping her identity a secret – and right now, it didn’t matter. He just wanted her close. “’s fine.”  
  
        She knew it wasn’t the truth but didn’t dare to ask. “You up for a few minutes on the Eiffel Tower before we return?” Marinette looked up with her piercing blue eyes that made his legs feel like jello. “I heard Paris is beautiful at night.”  
  
        A nod was all he managed to do. ‘Is this really you, Marinette?’ Was this really the clumsy girl that always fell or stuttered when he talked to her? But again – he shouldn’t think about that.   
  
        Within a couple of minutes, they sat down on the highest platform of the monument. A comfortable silence surrounding them as they watched the lights of Paris. They sat close to each other, with their thighs touching and his head on her shoulder. He had de-transformed since Plagg always complained about human contact and feelings. Up here they could forget the problems of their civilian and superhero lives.   
  
        “Let’s take a picture.” Ladybug’s voice broke the silence. “– capture the moment.”   
  
        Adrien hummed in response and made no signs to remove his head from her shoulder. She snapped a picture but he wasn’t looking at the camera, his eyes were fixed on her.   
  
        Marinette looked down to him, meeting his dreaming gaze. The camera made a silent sound as she dropped it down somewhere behind them, the picture in her hand. Suddenly she felt like he was too close. Red filled the parts of her face that weren’t covered with her mask. Her heart beat like crazy. Was he able to tell? “I- I think I still owe you something,” she leaned in closer so that he could feel her breath on his lips. “That means if you’re okay with that.”  
  
        He tried to swallow whatever it was that formed in his throat but his mouth felt dry. He was okay with it. More than okay. He nodded.   
  
        His lips were soft even though she had no experience to compare it to. Marinette kept her eyes open, seeing that his slowly closed. She wanted to retreat, she really wanted to – remembering herself that this was wrong – but he was the one to cup her cheeks and pull her back. She lost herself in the moment. Their noses pressed against each other. Both were inexperienced but couldn’t care less.   
  
        Afterward, none of them could tell how they ended up in this position; Adrien on top of her and Marinette on her back, while he bit her bottom lip. She moaned in his mouth and burrowed hands in his hair. The moan gave an opening for him to move on. Their teeth clicking against each other and tongues dancing. They parted as they heard the camera starting to print another time. Heavy breathing filled the air as they tried to get what just happened. That was way more than a kiss. They made out on the Eiffel Tower! And to Adrien’s bad luck his kwami had taken a picture of it.   
  
        The model practically jumped off her. “I-I’m so sorry, Ladybug!” He yelled. “I- I didn’t mean to – I mean… Ladybug?”  
  
        Marinette lay on the ground, her head spinning either from lack of oxygen or from her own thoughts. This was _wrong_. Everything was _wrong_. This was a _mistake_!   
  
        “I-I… I need to go.” Her brain running short circuit, Marinette made the worst decision ever – she ran away. In the split of a second, she had thrown her yo-yo into the air and swung away.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, my hand slipped...?

        “Shit,” Marinette cursed. Her teeth went down into her bottom lip for the fifth time, causing the abused flesh to bleed even harder. She sat in a dark alley, de-transformed and crying. She knew from the moment she fled that this was another mistake. On top of that, she knew that Adrien had followed her. They had a chase through half of Paris before she dropped her transformation in this alley and hid.  
  
        “Marinette – ” Tikki flew up to face her on eye-level. But she couldn’t do anything for her chosen, seeing that she didn’t even listen. The kwami knew what Marinette thought and she knew that the girl was wrong. Marinette felt like Adrien just liked her Ladybug-side since Marinette separated her superhero persona and her civilian self. But Marinette and Ladybug were one and the same. That’s what she tried to tell her on a daily basis. That girl just had such a low self-esteem that she always felt like she wasn’t worth attention. “Maybe Chat Noir can help her,” the kwami murmured as she flew away.  
  
  
        Tears streamed down her face, smudging her eyeliner. Marinette dug her nails into her palm until it bled. With her back propped against the wall, she hit her head against the bricks a few times to keep her from screaming. The alley was dark and quite disgusting. She didn’t want to know in what liquid she was sitting in but judging from the broken pieces of glass around her, she assumed it was some kind of alcohol. Her hand wandered to a piece of glass, clenching it in her hand and holding it up to her arm. To be honest, she didn’t know what she planned to do, she just wanted to be able to think and breathe again.  
  
  
        It wasn’t hard to sense Plagg’s chosen. His aura was always strong around his kitten, protecting them. But the aura didn’t overtone the panic of the young boy. Tikki followed them and ironically he caught a glimpse of her when he jumped over the alley where Marinette was located.  
  
        “Chat Noir, wait!” Unfortunately, the kwami’s voice wasn’t as loud as a human voice but she hoped, at least, Plagg would hear her.  
  
        The hero stopped mid-jump and landed on his face. Tikki quickly caught up and flew to a place a few feet away from him. His piercing green eyes looked up at her. “Tikki,” he remembered her name. Adrien’s eyes were puffy and his voice was hoarse. No wonder, he had been yelling her name for the past hour. Tears had soaked through his mask as well. “Where is she? You need to tell me where she is. I need to apologize. I need to do – something. Please!”  
  
        Tikki nodded and placed her tiny hand on his cheek. “Ch – Adrien!” She reminded him. “I need you now – she needs you now. I’m afraid she’ll do something stu– something she’ll regret in the future.”  
  
        His eyes widened even more. Oh no, he knew where this was going. He knew too well. Adrien bit his bottom lip, asking an urgent question. “She’s Marinette, right?”  
  
        The kwami hesitated, looking away. “I’m not allowed to tell, that’s why I am asking you to wait three minutes. I’ll transform her and then you can – talk to her or whatever. Please make her smile again.” Tikki made her way back when he nodded. Before diving off in the alley she looked back to Adrien. “One last thing, right now she isn’t the confident hero you’re used to; right now she’s just _herself_ … and that’s quite the opposite. Just so you know.”  
  
        When the red god disappeared Adrien felt that he was right with assuming that Marinette was Ladybug.  
  
  
        She had promised him not to do it again and yet here she was: on the ground, holding a bloody piece of glass in one hand over her arm and ready to slit her arm open.  
  
        All Marinette wanted was to end it. The lies she had to tell her parents about the black marks appearing on her body after she had been absent to classes she should have attended. The lies towards her best friend. The lies towards Adrien and the whole ‘we’re just friends’-theatre. The feeling that she wasn’t worth of Tikki’s trust. The pain itself that threatened to crush her chest. All of that should end.  
  
        Marinette vaguely noticed that Tikki flew straight into her earrings, transforming her to Ladybug. She had no time to complain either because a black figure caught her eye. She didn’t have night vision but Chat Noir sure had. She jumped to her feet and backed away. Looking for her yo-yo was useless because it was gone with Tikki’s transformation.  
  
        “Please, don’t run away,” Chat pleaded. “Please stay,” His claw reached out for her. “Please, _Marinette._ ”  
  
        The pain of the glass in her hand now was even more present because she clenched her fists; cutting through the material of her suit and deep in her hand. Her own name rang in her ears. Did he know? That’s when her vision went black and her muscles refused working due to exhaustion.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know why I love making this so dramatic.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From here on now it's just teeth rotting fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the last chapter after our little debate in the comments. I'm always open to critique and thank you for your opinions. For those who don't want to re-read it: I just changed one paragraph and Mari didn't intend to kill herself, she just had the urge to hurt herself in order to be able to breathe. (I suck at explaining...)
> 
> I'm going to Eisfeld to work for two weeks so I won't be able to update (depending on whether I'm lucky the hotel has Wifi or not). Just in case if you don't here from me in a while. I'm not dead or missing or crying because the season finale just came out and I watched it three times... - I'm just working and trying to be the adult I'm supposed to be. 
> 
> Have fun, guys.

        Blue eyes fluttered open and tried to adjust where they were. This wasn’t her room and this wasn’t her bed either – it was a couch. Marinette knew that room. It was Adrien’s. She sat up and instantly groaned. Her head felt like a bunch of people were playing basketball with her brain and her vision was still blurry. ‘What happened?’  
  
        Marinette could recall that she was on Adrien’s birthday party… a drunk Alya… a dare about kissing Adrien… actually making out with Adrien on the Eiffel Tower… a dark alley… The last thing she remembered was holding a broken piece of glass over her arm and the determination to end the pressure put on her.  
  
        Marinette gasped and looked down at her hands. The first thing she noticed was that her transformation had been released. Touching her face proved her that the fake mask was gone as well. She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping – she assumed it was morning but it could have been midday as well – so she didn’t blame Tikki. But the second thing she noticed was that her fake suit was gone as well. The top Adrien had borrowed her and short pants replaced her costume. Her arms and hands had been bandaged.  
  
        A snoring sound caught her attention. Adrien was sleeping with his head on the couch and the rest of him kneeling beside it. His breathing was even but the way his lashes fluttered indicated a nightmare. His hands clawed the fabric of the furniture. He had been crying. Most likely because she wasn’t what he expected her to be. No hero, just a klutz. There was no way he could’ve missed it. Marinette tried to imagine his face when he found her. Surely he had taken her home and treated her wounds out of pity.  
  
        “You’re awake.” The soft voice of Adrien pulled her back to reality. He looked sad when she scooted to the other side of the couch, getting as far away from him as she could. “How are you feline?” His words met silence. “The clothes… Tikki and Plagg lead my hands. I kept my eyes closed, Cats honor. I didn’t see a thing!” His opposite just pulled her legs up to her chest, hiding her face on her knees. “Please, _talk to me, Marinette_!”  
  
        There was the hissing sound of breath being sucked in when she pulled her legs even closer. Finally, her muffled voice reached his ears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry for disappointing you.”  
  
        “Disa– wait _what_?!” Within seconds, he jumped to his feet.  
  
        “You always talked about Ladybug like she is perfection itself. You put her on a pedestal.” Blue bangs covered the rest of her face that wasn’t hidden by her knees. “I’m sorry for not meeting your expectations. I’m sorry for just being a klutz. I’m sorry I used my other persona to get close to you. I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m so sorry for kissing you – you must be so disgusted…”  
  
        “No,” he breathed out and cut her off. “No _nononononono **no!**_ ”  
  
        Adrien practically jumped over to her. He reached out for her but didn’t dare to touch her. His voice grew louder with every no. “Stop talking about yourself like this, Marinette!” His voice demanding. “There is no need for you to be sorry. I am _not_ disappointed. You’re not a klutz. You’re an amazing, talented young girl. You are strong, you are loved, and you accepted both of my sides which makes me so happy _andIreallylikedkissingyou._ ” The last words just slipped from his mouth without going through his filter. He sighed as she stared at him in disbelief. “What I want to say is,” Adrien bend down and hugged her, even if she was squirming. “ _I’m really glad it’s you, Marinette_.” Forcing himself onto her, he pressed his forehead against hers. “And I mean it, every.single.word.”  
  
        Blue orbs gaped up at him. Marinette needed a moment to realize what he said and another moment to start crying. It wasn’t the cute kind of crying like in a romance movie; it was the ugly kind, where you throw your head in your neck and try to hold back the flood of emotions that wants to run out of every pore. Incidentally, she noticed him crying in her lap too.  Marinette blamed it on teenage hormones that they had been crying so often lately.  
  
        “Marinette, tell me what you wanted to do  back in the alley!” His hands gently gripped her bandaged wrist. Sobs interrupting his words. Whatever it was that drove her into the corner, he wanted to erase it. Marinette should never feel like she had to hurt herself again.  
  
        The bluenette pressed the palm of her hand on her eye as the memories shot back. “I-I didn’t want to lie anymore. –  I _can’t_ lie anymore… To my parents… Alya… you.” With tearing eyes she looked down at Adrien, whose green eyes looked up to her. Her hand slowly sunk and her fingertips brushed against his cheek. “I can’t stay friends with you – I _don’t want_ to stay friends with you.” She watched his eyes widen in hurt and fear. He licked his dry lips when she continued.  
  
         “Because I want more than that… – I _feel_ more than that.” Adrien could feel her fingers trembling as another wave of crying washed over her. “I want to be able to be with you as Ladybug and as Marinette,” she said with a determined voice which broke down as quick as it came. “I want to hug you… and kiss you… and tell you what I feel for yo – mpf”  
  
        Years of fencing had taught Adrien how to spot an opening when he saw one. He knew how to take it. The kiss was hard and clumsy from his side. Both teens tasted salt when they parted. He started to chuckle. Chuckles turned into laughter and eventually she shyly joined him. “I’m so glad you’re you.”  
  
         “W-What does this mean?” Marinette dared to ask. So much was happening at once. Her head felt like she’d been spinning around the last ten minutes.  
  
         “Don’t you get it?” He grinned in between laughing and cupped her cheeks, pulling her head a little bit closer. A few seconds later he found himself lost in her blue eyes. Ladybug’s eyes – no, _Marinette_ ’s eyes. Those caring eyes that had watched over him for the past weeks. “I love you, Mari.”  
  
        Adrien had seen her blush before but this time, her face looked almost unhealthy – almost as if she wasn’t – “Mari, please remember to breathe!” Adrien gestured around in front of her, as Marinette came to her senses.  
  
        Right. Breathing. The concept of inhaling and exhale. Shouldn’t be too complicated. It’s usually something you can’t forget. But Marinette forgot how to. “T-That’s not right,” she said as she finally remembered how to use the useless muscle in her mouth. “Y-You love Ladybug, not the klutz Marinette.”  
  
        “Remember what you once told me? That I shouldn’t think so low of myself? You may not see it, but Ladybug had always been Marinette. You’re intelligent, brave and talented. Don’t sell yourself short.” He looked her straight in the eye, his voice as serious as possible. His thumb made small circles on her cheeks. “And yes, I love Ladybug _and_ I love Marinette. Because you’re the same person.” A kiss landed on her nose before he continued, “Don’t give me that look and don’t think about denying it, my lovebug.”  
  
        Marinette took a deep breath, giving her body the needed oxygen. With a voice that almost wasn’t audible, she mumbled, “Me too.”  
  
        “Hm?”  
  
        “I-I love you, too,” This time her voice was a little bit louder. Imagining Chat instead of Adrien made the stuttering a lot better. A small smile tugging on the corners of her lips. “I love you, Adrien ‘my puns are so stupid’ Agreste.“  
  
        “First, my puns are claw-some!”, he exclaimed and she rolled her eyes. “Second, I love you, Marinette ‘I kick butt at night but trip over the air at daytime’ Dupain-Cheng.”  
  
         Said girl pouted with a flushed face. “That name’s too long and absolutely wrong,” she protested. “I could kick your ass right now without the mask.”  
  
        “Okay, let’s settle on,” Adrien’s finger tipped his chin as a grin spread on his face. “Marinette ‘half of my eyebrows are gone because I can’t handle masks and superglue’ Dupain Cheng!”  
  
        She playfully hit his chest, pushing him away. Amazing how fast her mood seemed to change in his company. “That’s it,” her voice exclaimed. “I’m going to kick your ass, Chaton. No belated birthday present for you.” The drama-queen she was, Marinette theatrically grabbed her bag and pretended to look for her kwami.  
  
        “Then how about” The model watched her from the couch. “Marinette ‘future Agreste’ Dupain-Cheng?”  
  
        Choking Marinette lost grip on her bag as she spun around; Amazed by how much blood she had left to send to her face. Maybe her body was planning on creating a new shade of red? “W-wha-what _doyoumeanbythat_?”  
  
        Adrien chuckled and his head hit the soft couch a little bit harder than expected. “Marinette, will you be my girlfriend?”  
  
        On that Friday morning around 8 a.m. Marinette Dupain-Cheng died – Cause of death: the absolutely adorable face of Adrien ‘fucking cinnamon roll’ Agreste.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One or two more chapters to go until this part ends.   
> Maybe I'll continue with another short part about the beach house week.   
> I love all of you for your kind comments. You always make my day.   
> (Needed to travel for my apprenticeship - Greetings from Thüringen)

        Sometimes Marinette wasn’t sure if she attracted crazy people or if she was the reason they turned out crazy. Because this wasn’t what any other person would call normal. She looked down at the purring mess in her lap, who hugged his still packed present. His cheek rubbing against her stomach and his chest vibrating from the animalistic sounds. ‘Probably we were never normal in the first place,’ Marinette thought to herself as she ran her hands through her boyfriend’s hair. She still couldn’t believe he asked her out. Marinette was pretty sure that this was a dream and Tikki would wake her up any minute.   
  
         “Do you want to open it or do you want to keep it packed?”  
  
        Finally, the green eyes opened again. “I don’t want to rip the paper,” he admitted, holding the present towards her. He didn’t want to rip it _because it had ladybugs and cats on it. And hearts. So many hearts!_   
  
        A chuckle. Finding paper like that had been hard enough. “I have a whole roll at home. You can have it if you want.”  
  
        If she said so, Adrien said to himself and sat up. His hands fidgeting with the paper. The sound of ripping it filled the room followed by a loud gasp. The frame was now filled with the pictures she had taken the days before. Some of the frames couldn’t be filled but there were small post-its with cat doodles. Adrien spotted a picture of Alya and Nino, hugging him while smiling brightly into the camera. Even a picture of him with Chloé could be found – “I know she’s your childhood friend and you respect her so I put it in there,” Marinette explained. – He smiled at the pictures from the Ladyblog Alya had been freaking out about. Then he spotted the two figures that could be attached to the frame. Ladybug and Chat Noir. His already puffy eyes got filled with tears again. “Did you make them?”  
  
        Marinette nodded somewhat proud of what she made. “I bought the basic and made the rest myself.”  
  
        Adrien gently placed the frame and the rest on the desk in front of them. Then he turned around and threw himself in Marinette’s arms. He literally knocked her over and she landed with her back pressed against the couch. His mouth pressing hard against hers. “I love it. I love you so much,” Adrien declared between his kisses. “You’re the best girlfriend ever! – uhm – I mean, not that I have experiences to compare it to but –”  
  
        Marinette blushed harder than she ever had before. Girlfriend. She was Adrien Agreste’s _girlfriend_. He was her _boyfriend_. The words felt so unfamiliar but yet so amazing. Her hands got lost in the blonde mess above her as she shut him up with a kiss. “I’m glad you like it.”  
  
        Sitting upwards he gave her his best Chat Noir grin. He didn’t notice that he was sitting on her lower abdomen and really near her – ah forget it. “I’m going to put mom’s picture in it,” he said. “And the pictures from yesterday,” he wiggled his eyebrows making her blush all over again. “And all the pictures we will make at the beach – _oops_ …”  
  
        “Beach?” Marinette repeated surprised.   
  
         “Surprise?” Awkward laughter escaped Adrien’s lips as he scratched his neck. “Dad’s present was a free week at our beach house and I asked him – uhm…”  
  
        “Adrien, what did you ask him?”  
  
        “ _IaskedhimifIcouldbringmygirlfriend,_ ” he rambled and finally started blushing too. “And he said I could take her with me if I introduce her to him. I really don’t wanna go alone.”  
  
         “Wait, you asked your father if you could bring your girlfriend even if we weren’t dating at that time?!” Marinette shrieked ignoring the fact that he wanted to meet her first. “When I was just Ladybug to you?”  
  
        Adrien gave her a sheepish grin. “I didn’t think that through,” he admitted, dropping down and nuzzling her neck. “I usually don’t think when I’m around you.”  
  
        “Stop being so cheesy or Plagg will wake up and try to eat you,” Marinette snorted and kissed his cheek.   
  
        Said kwami flew towards them, holding a vibrating phone. “I am already awake and you’re still disgusting,“ Plagg stated. “Now make this thing stop vibrating.”  
  
        Adrien, mistaken the phone for his since it was Nino’s picture popping up on the display, sat up again and took the call. “Hey Nino, what’s up?”  
  
_“Mari, what the fuck, where are you? You’re supposed to be in school today. Chloé and Alya got in a fight and are heading to your house and I DON’T KNOW HOW TO COVER UP FOR YOU ANYMORE. I DIDN’T GET TRAINED FOR THAT. GET OUT YOUR YO-YO AND SWING YOUR ASS – wait, Adrien? Okay I shouldn’t be surprised at this point and I’ll save the screams of joy for another time – Dude, get Mari on the phone or better GET HER HOME, LIKE RIGHT NOW,”_ , Nino’s screams were so loud that even Marinette heard everything.   
  
        The teens exchanged surprised looks and spoke in unison, “We had school?”  
  
        _“Yes and THAT’S NOT THE POINT.”_ Nino sounded like he was on the verge of dying. _“THEY’RE ALMOST OUT OF SCHOOL. GET HERE NOW!”  
  
_         A beep indicated that Nino had hung up. In the span of a few seconds, Marinette had jumped up from the couch, ran to her bag and pulled out her clothes. Adrien used the time to get ready for school, too.   
  
         “How could we _forget_ school?” Marinette whined to herself as she pulled the shirt over the clothes she was already wearing. “I reminded them yesterday. How could _I_ forget?”   
  
        “Be positive, my love,” Adrien chimed, buttoning his pants. “At least, we only missed the first two classes.”  
  
        “Make it three if you don’t hurry up, kitty.” Marinette nudged Tikki awake who was sleeping in Plagg’s spot. “Tikki, we need to transform and hurry home. I’ll explain later.”  
  
        “Claws out!” She heard Adrien say behind her. Chat Noir took his place, leaning on his baton.   
  
         “Poser,” murmured the girl and transformed. She wanted to ask him why he had transformed in the first place but she had no time. With a sharp sound, she zipped out of the window, Chat Noir close behind her.   
  
  
  
         When they dropped on her balcony Marinette could already spot Alya and the blonde Barbie in front of the baker. As soon as she pulled the trap door open they heard the bell. Releasing their transformation the teens made their way down. Marinette pulled out sweat bands and hid the wounds on her wrists underneath them. No need to worry Alya even more.   
  
         “What are you doing here anyways?” Marinette shot a questioning glare to her boyfriend. “How are we going to explain that?”  
  
        “Trust me, my Lady, I have a plan.”  
  
        He bluffed.   
  
        He had no idea what he was going to tell them. But he would make up a story. Hopefully. Coming with Marinette was totally worth it. The looks on Alya’s, Chloé’s and even Nino’s faces were priceless when he opened the door with Marinette behind him.  
  
        “Ah, hey guys,” he chimed happily. “We were just about to leave for school.”  
  
        ‘ _What is happening here?’_ Alya’s glare screamed as her eyes locked on Marinette’s.  
  
_‘I have no clue what he’s doing,’_ Marinette’s answered. That was true. She had no clue what he was about to do and that scared her to death. They hadn’t settled on a story and oh boy, she hoped he wouldn’t tell them that they were dating. Chloe would blow up and she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to become the bully’s target once again.  
  
        “Adrikins,” Chloé shrieked and Marinette suppressed the urge to slap the blonde. “What are you doing here with _her_?” Her voice dripped with disgust as she tried to throw herself in his arms. “Did she kidnap you?”  
  
        Adrien frowned. His lips formed into a thin line. He had enough. Chloé had stepped over a line and he held her at arm’s length. “Chlo, I suggest you stop talking that way about Marinette.”  
  
        “Why?” The blonde girl scowled.  
  
         “Because,” Adrien looped an arm around Marinette’s shoulder causing her to blush, “I won’t tolerate you badmouthing my girlfriend.”  
  
        Aaaand he did it. On top of that, he kissed her hair. Marinette felt her blood rush to her head, turning the blush into a bright red.  
  
        “What?” Alya and Chloé screamed in unison. Holding himself in the secure background, Nino gave them a thumbs up. It took Chloe several minutes to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Her face going through several emotions at once. Then she screamed and stomped her way back muttering something about telling her father.  
  
        Adrien didn’t seem to care. Grinning happily he dragged the others out of the bakery (not letting go of his girlfriend’s hand though). Even if the boys tried to hide it, Marinette saw the high five Adrien gave Nino. “Let’s get to class before school is over.”   
  
        Alya shot her best friend another glare and the bluenette shrunk under it. _‘We are so going to talk about this later, girl!’_  
  
        Marinette gulped. This was going to be a long day. Probably the longest day of her entire life.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette's uterus is none of Gabriel Agreste's business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kids, why did you want to know what they were fighting about? Couldn't you just accept that they were fighting? I had to spend three hours working on a reason why Alya and Chloé could be fighting. ;_;

        Baking three cakes in the time span of 30 minutes?  Easy.  
        Bringing back the Eiffel Tower after an akuma had destroyed it? A piece of cake.  
        Escaping school or her friends during an akuma attack? Slightly difficult.  
        Keeping up with Chat Noir’s puns? Difficult.  
        Speaking coherent sentences in front of your crush? Hard.  
        Hiding from a raging Alya? Impossible.  
  
        Said Ladyblogger had a goal – finding out the truth. In order to achieve this goal, she ran half a marathon just to catch Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her handsome boyfriend. The evil mind she is, Alya trapped them in one of the study rooms of the school’s library as the bell called for lunch break. “You two have some explaining to do!”  
  
        Nino stood by the door, looking out of the glass panel to alarm them when a teacher was coming. Adrien hid behind Marinette. His girlfriend didn’t mind, Alya could get a little scary when she was angry. “What do you want to know?”  
  
        “How come you two are suddenly dating?” The redhead growled. “First, you can’t say a word around him without stuttering and now you talk as fluently as water runs down a river. Plus I thought you liked that other guy!”  
  
        And there it was the thing Marinette had completely forgotten about: The story she had told Alya. Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Which guy?”  
  
        “You,” she whispered towards him without moving her lips, “the other you.” Marinette's hand rubbed the base of her neck as she chuckled embarrassedly. “Alya that’s – uhm… That guy was… is… Adrien. I was just afraid to tell you because of… various reasons.”  
  
        Fortunately, Adrien understood within a few seconds. His hands wandered to Marinette’s shoulders and squeezed them. “Mari, let’s just tell her,” he whispered in her ear. “Nino knows, too.”  
  
        “Tell me?”, Alya freaked. “Tell me _what_?”  
  
        When Alya ran towards Marinette, Adrien retreated. Nope, he wasn’t dealing with a furious girl again. He has had enough Chloé in his life to know when danger approached. Marinette would be capable of dealing with Alya on her own. She was Ladybug after all.  
  
        The place on Marinette’s shoulders where Adrien’s hands had been just minutes ago been replaced by Alya’s much smaller hands. Alya inspected her best friend and shot Adrien a glare. “Mari, did he do something to you and get you pregnant?!”  
  
        For a moment everyone was silent. Then Nino started laughing and Adrien joined after a few seconds. They held their stomachs that hurt from cackling.  
  
        “Alya, no!” With her head red as Ladybug’s suit, Marinette pushed her best friend away. “But nice to know that the first thing you think about is a potential pregnancy,” she pouted and spun around to Nino and Adrien. “Stop laughing, Adrien, that isn’t funny!”  
  
        “Oh, that _is_ pretty funny, Princess!”  
  
        Marinette fished a book from one of the shelves and threatened to throw it at him. “I’ll show you what’s funny!”  
  
        Adrien carefully hid behind Nino, who squeaked. “Dude, don’t pull me into your fights. I won’t take the bullet for you.” He shoved Adrien back in front of him. “But it is funny, though. Because that’s the reason why Alya and Chloé were fighting earlier. Chloé found out about your ‘boy’ and said that you were skipping school because you’re pregnant. That’s why they were heading to your home.”  
  
        “And now she’s probably spreading rumors,” Alya murmured to herself. With a grunt, Alya cleared her throat causing the attention to switch back. Adrien regained posture and Marinette blushed under Alya’s accusing gaze. The redhead sighed and shook her head. That was a lot of input for one day. So Adrien was the boy Marinette had been comforting. But now that she knew she saw Adrien in another light. The puzzle slowly becoming done. He had smiled more often since Marinette had started comforting her mysterious boyfriend. He had always avoided swim classes. Looking at his piercing green eyes and noticing the sweat bands on Marinette's wrists, Alya knew that they needed each other. It hurt knowing that she didn't trust her best friend enough to tell her that.  
  
        Marinette looked hurt. “Alya, we can’t tell you right now but we will,” she assured. “Soon.”  
  
  
  
  
        Later on, the blonde model leaned towards his girlfriend. Alya had switched seats with Adrien because she ‘couldn’t stand those disgustingly cute goo-goo-eyes without puking’. Marinette was sure that her best friend was still mad and she couldn’t blame her. Seventy-five of the quartette knew about her secret identity – leaving Alya alone. She was determined to notice it.  
  
        “What did you mean by ‘soon’?”  Adrien’s voice barely a whisper but the teacher noticed it anyway; shooting him an angry glare. “What are you planning?”  
  
        “I decided that I want to join you next week,” she whispered back. “And since your father wants me to introduce myself I’ll talk to him so Nino and Alya can tag along. That’ll be the best chance to tell her.”  
  
        Adrien’s face told that he didn’t believe that Marinette would be able to change his father’s mind. Hell, it would be hard enough for him to accept that his son had a girlfriend. Adrien was scared to death. What would happen if Gabriel didn’t approve of Marinette?  
  
        “Don’t worry, I got that.” Blue eyes shot him a wink. “I’m a hero after all.”  
  
__________  
  
  
        By the time school ended all of her confidence seemed to have run away.  Where did she get that from anyway? Marinette was sure she wasn’t supposed to talk loud before acting and now karma got the better of her. She sat next to Adrien on his bed playing with her fingers, trying to remember how to breathe correctly. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, set up the tablet, making everything ready for a video conference. From the way it looked, this wasn’t a rare situation. Which parent talks to their child only via video chat? Oh yeah, she forgot, they were talking about Gabriel Agreste, who won the award for the worst dad ever over five years in a row.  
  
        “Don’t worry, he’ll like you!” _Probably._  
  
        Adrien was just as nervous as Marinette but years of practice taught him how to hide it. His heart beat at an inhuman speed as the display showed ‘calling’. He imagined his father’s face when he saw his son and a girl wearing _his_ shirt, holding _his_ hand, maybe kissing _him_.  
  
        As soon as his father’s face filled the screen, Adrien’s hands were clenched into fists.  
  
        _“Adrien.”_ A nod.  
  
        “Father.”  
  
        The atmosphere felt cold. Marinette’s eyes widened in shock at the lack of love in their voices. She wasn’t aware that she scooted closer to Adrien, slipping her hand in his.  
  
        “You said, you wanted the meet the girl I wanted to ask out,” Adrien reminded his father before holding up their intertwined hands. “This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my girlfriend and I’m going to take her with me next week.” His voice was slightly shaking as they fell into silence, waiting for Mr. Agreste to react.  
  
        “ _You are the one who won most of my contests.”_  
  
        The bluenette nodded with all of Ladybug’s strength. “Yes, Mr. Agreste, I am the one,” she said confidently.  
  
        _“I’ve got a call from Mr. Burgoise who told me that a certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng got impregnated by my son.”_ His eyes switched between the kids. _“Care to explain?”_  
  
        Marinette blushed and Adrien groaned. He had wondered all day that the expected rumors didn’t come. But now it was crystal clear that Chloé had spilled the beans right to the important parties.  
  
        “Mr. Agreste, I believe that my uterus is none of your business.” The bluenette snapped, but collected herself. “I can assure you that I am not pregnant,” Marinette tried to stay calm and not start babbling. Adrien had to bite back a giggle. “I mean – I had health class long enough to know what protection is.” She threw her head into Adrien’s shoulder but not without mouthing a ‘Help me!’ towards the blonde.  
  
        “You know Chloé and what she does to get what she wants.” Adrien sounded like he searched for some kind of approval for his words and his girlfriend. “So, Father…?”  
  
        On the other side of the line Gabriel Agreste fell into silence. He tapped his chin, a gesture he usually avoided when other people were around. Gabriel knew his son wouldn’t continue to model for him forever, since he never liked it much – and that girl sure had talent. Her confidence reminded him so much of his wife in her younger days. An almost not noticeable smile tugged on the corners of his lips. _“You have a lot of talent,”_ he said thoughtfully. _“You’re different than this good for nothing rapper my – “_  
  
        “Nino,” Marinette cut him off sharply. “His name is Nino. I won’t let you badmouth one of my friends. And you better accept that he is _your son’s_ friend as well. Nino is his best friend, you shouldn’t talk about him like that – especially if you don’t know him.”  
  
        The man chuckled. Adrien’s shocked face was more than amusing. He really feared that the designer wouldn’t approve of his girlfriend. Gabriel couldn’t care less if a teenage girl didn’t like his opinion. But she held her ground against him. Another feature his wife had had _. “You are right, I don’t know that boy and maybe he could prove me that he isn’t a bad influence one day – ”_  
  
        Again Marinette cut him off and Adrien wondering if his girlfriend had a silent death wish. He had never seen somebody talk that way to Gabriel Agreste. Well, except for his mother.  
  
        “Why just ‘one day’?” Marinette cocked her head. “I thought of next week. Maybe he and my best friend could join us on our little vacation? Show you that our meet-up’s don’t end in a total chaos.” Her hand strangled his but she remained strong. ”Furthermore, they could supervise us. You don’t want the little rumor to come true, do you?” Yep, she definitely had a death wish. But instead of glaring at her they found Gabriel listening.  
  
_“I like your temper, Miss Cheng,”_ Gabriel chuckled but his features stayed in place. _“I’m looking forward to meeting you in person once I come back.”_ With a short nod towards the couple the call ended, leaving the screen black.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I had to cut the chapter here because it would've been too long.  
> Next up: Last chapter and my first time writing something that could be called smut.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our cinnamon rolls are awkward, little beans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be another part of this series featuring the beach house vacation but the main part (this fic) is finished with this.  
> First attempt at writing something like smut. Please be gentle (hah)...  
> Enjoy!

        Marinette and Adrien exchanged surprised looks. They hadn’t got an answer on Marinette’s request. Neither had they gotten an answer on whether the man approved of their relationship or not.  
  
        The bluenette felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A smile crept on her face. “He didn’t say no.” It was a simple statement but it made Adrien smile too.  
  
        “And he likes you!” Adrien exclaimed, knocking her over into the soft sheets. He laid on her while they giggled. “I thought he would kill you for speaking up,” the blonde huffed suddenly, pinning her down on the mattress. “Don’t scare me like that ever again.”  
  
        “I won’t bend because your father wants me to, you know,” Marinette’s words were soft but determined. He could see why she was Ladybug. “I may look up to his talent but I am not a doll – and neither are you.” She narrowed her eyes. “And if he doesn’t approve of us, then it’s not our problem. I’m pretty sure all he can do is kicking you out and even if this happens my parents would gladly keep you forever –” The rest of her speech was muffled by a kiss. A kiss she gladly joined.  
  
        Adrien loved this girl. He made him feel loved. A feeling that he thought was long lost. One hand left her wrists to cup her cheek to pull her closer and into an almost sitting position. His kisses were still clumsy but they were beginners. Her hand free to roam and Adrien felt her linger at the hem of his shirt.  
  
        After a while when she realized he didn’t mind, she slipped it under it, feeling his strong back. The muscles tensing.  
  
        “Did I already tell you how glad I am that you are you, Marinette?” Adrien tried to put as much love in her name as humanly possible. “Because I love you.”  
  
        “I love you too,” she mumbled back. Her cheeks heated up. This time, it wasn’t embarrassment but something different. Something she had never felt before. Her mind felt dizzy and her thoughts clouded. She wanted him. Only him. “Adrien…”  
  
        Whatever she was feeling seemed to be contagious. Heat flushed to his face and to other parts of his body, making him send prayers to any godlike creature that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. His eyes filled with lust. “Marinette…”  
  
        His hands wandered up her soft skin, playfully dragging up his shirt on her body, fingernails dancing across her sides. “Marinette!”, he whispered against her skin as he plastered her neck with kisses. “Mari!”, he repeated as he kissed her collarbone; carefully nipping on the skin.  
  
        The sudden feeling of teeth on her skin made her moan. She didn’t really know what to do in those situations.  
  
        But Adrien didn’t need her to do something. After all those weeks she’d taken care of him, it was his turn to make it up to her. His fingers tucked on his top she was still – more or the less – wearing. “Off?”, he asked unsure of his own actions.  
  
        The bluenette gave an almost unnoticeable nod; heat flushing through her cheeks as he pulled the black, striped top over her head and tossed it in the corner of his room.  
  
        “Mari!” Adrien instantly began plastering feathery kisses on the newly exposed skin. While doing so he took his time to appreciate the ladybug themed bra of hers – ‘Maybe she’s wearing matching panties?’  
  
        “Mari!” He continued his way down her stomach, kissing her abs and cupping her breasts with his hands. He pushed her back so she fell on the soft pillows of his bed. As he bit down at the rib right under her breast, her whole body jolted up again and she gave a loud scream of ecstasy. It took him a few moments to realize she was screaming his name. Encouraged by this his kisses wandered deeper. He was chanting her name against her skin as if it was a magic spell and leaving a trail of love bites.  
  
        Eventually, he reached the elastic band of her shorts. Green eyes wandered up to Marinette, who was still panting hard.  
  
         ‘Maybe for once Adrien can be as brave as Chat’, he thought and ran a finger over her shorts right between her legs. He must’ve done something right because her hips bucked up, causing her to squeak his name.  
  
        Maybe his senses were sharper because Plagg rubbed off on him but he could smell her and it was driving him insane. Adrien knew asking if her panties could go off was needless because at this point she would’ve done anything to get him closer, but he asked anyway; smiling at the nod from his princess. He ran his fingers through her folds, searching for the small bundle of nerves. She was so fucking wet and muffled a scream by biting her knuckles when he found what he was looking for.  
  
         “No need to be silent, my lady,” he said while plastering kisses on the inside of her thighs. “My father is away, Nathalie is with her family and the only people who might hear you don’t bother coming up here.”  
  
        Marinette blushed, removing her hand from her mouth just to mutter. “B-But it’s embarrassing.”  
  
        Adrien stopped, removing his fingers and looking up to meet her eyes. “Oh, should I stop then?” He asked in a teasing tone.  
  
        If Marinette wasn’t already red before, she was now. Her eyes avoided his. “Don’t you dare stop!”  
  
        His lips wandered back to her thigh, leaving a trail of hickeys. Sweet moans escaped her lips as he gave her an experimental lick. One finger dipped into her, making her hips move restlessly.  
  
         “Adrien,” she moaned. Vocal, she was so fucking vocal.  
  
        He placed a kiss on her clit as he entered a second finger, slowly moving them and licking the bundle of nerves in the same rhythm.  
  
        Marinette’s voice grew louder. She didn’t know how her hands ended up in his hair but now that they were there, she pressed him against her. A well-known sensation made the muscles in her stomach tighten. “Adrien!”  
  
        Feeling the walls around his fingers tighten, Adrien started to grin. His teeth barely scratched her clit but the small touch was enough to send her over the edge. Her body bucked up, she screamed his name louder than anyone had ever screamed in this house and her nails dug into his scalp. Adrien continued kissing her while she was still high on her orgasm. He never actually saw a girl cum but this sure was a sight he could get used to.  
  
        Adrien crawled up, wiping his chin in the process. Fortunately, Marinette hadn’t got enough energy left to roll her eyes at his shit-eating grin. Her arms found his chest, slightly pushing him back so she could sit in front of him.  
  
        He protested in the process. “Did I do something wrong?”  
  
        Marinette shook her head, trying not to be embarrassed as she pointed at his shorts that had gotten pretty tight. “Your turn – ?” Her hands shook as she reached for his belt. God suddenly everything Alya had said about the first time and the pain came back to her head. She was afraid. But it was only fair if he came too. Sex was the only option that came to her mind since she knew how fast Alya and Nino had moved on with their affair.  
  
        With a quick reaction, Adrien gripped her wrists once again, pulling her hands away. “You don’t have to do that,” he assured, rubbing his cheek against hers. “I see that you’re afraid and that’s okay, Bugaboo.” As much as his erection hurt he didn’t want her to go that far just because she felt like she needed to do that. “We’ll do that once we’re both ready.”  
  
        On one hand she was relieved and glad to have a caring boyfriend but on the other hand Marinette noticed that he was suffering. She could only imagine how uncomfortable it must feel. “Maybe I could – uhm –” Looking down at her hands, Marinette hoped that Adrien would get what she had in mind.  
  
         What did she want? He followed her eyes. Oh… OH! “I guess, if you want to, uhm,” He rubbed his neck, grinning sheepishly. “I’m not the one to decline.” While he was sure with what he had done to her, he had no clue what to expect now.  Adrien noticed that she was way more confident as she removed his belt and tugged at his jeans. He helped her remove his pants and a few minutes later he was left sitting in front of her with just his shirt. He blushed as he noticed that her staring straight at his groin.  
  
        Marinette knew the basics from health class but the real thing was – well, quite different. “Am I allowed to,” her eyes never left his erection, “touch?”  
  
        Adrien chuckled. “I think we already established that.”  
  
        Dressed in only her red-black dotted bra, she scooted closer to him, crisscrossing her legs. ”Tell me if I do something wrong, okay?” Her fingers reached out and at first, she gave him an experimental poke. She felt the heat emitting from him and her eyes darted up as she heard him moan. Carefully her hand wrapped around him, feeling his dick twitch in response. Feeling his heartbeat in her hand was if she was honest with herself, totally weird. Marinette watched his face carefully for any sign of uneasiness. But to her surprise, his eyes rolled back and his breathing pitched. Obviously, she was doing it right, so she started moving her hand. The other one wandered up his neck, pulling him into a kiss. She bit down his bottom lip and let her tongue slide into his mouth. Hot breath streaming from his nose.  
  
        “Fuck, Mari,” Adrien cursed under his breath. Her hands felt like heaven and it was nothing compared to masturbation. Tension built up in his abdomen. “Could you maybe, uhm, squeeze a little bit harder?” God that was a weird question to ask. Good thing that they were both inexperienced beginners.  
  
        “Like this, Chaton?” Marinette tried to follow his request and tightened her grip. While doing so she picked up pace causing him to slam his head against her shoulder while moaning loud; licking, biting everything he could reach over her shoulder.  
  
        His hand wandered down to her exposed core. Adrien quickly found the bundle of nerves he was looking for and rubbed it gently in circular motions.  
  
        “Kitty!” Marinette peppered kisses along his neck while moaning his name; scratching her teeth against his pulse and feeling him twitch in her hand more than once. According to Alya’s lessons that meant he was close. Marinette herself, sensitive from the actions just minutes ago, was close to cumming again.  
  
        Suddenly Adrien bit down her shoulder, giving out a sound that could be described as a mixture between a grunt and a muffled scream.  
  
        The heat in her hand increased and she felt him twitch harder than before. Something dripped on her hand and his fingers pressed harder against her as he lost all of his self-control. Combined with the pain from her shoulder, Marinette threw her head in her neck and was sent over the edge once again.  
  
        She didn’t know how long they sat there, foreheads against the shoulders of the other one, but it felt like decades. Adrien softened in her hand and eventually their breathing went back to normal. A few minutes later both fished for something to cover up in case somebody decided to come in after they had been literally screaming each other’s names. Adrien pulled on his boxers and cleaned himself. Marinette took a tissue he offered her, cleaned her hand and put her panties plus his top back on. After that they collapsed on his bed, cuddling and kissing.  
  
        “Have I told you that I love you?” Adrien poked her hair with his nose.  
  
        “Yes,” Marinette answered. “But I don’t mind hearing it over and over again.”  
  
        “I love you.” Fingers pulled her up and arms were slung around her, gripping her in a tight hug. “Like really super-duper-mega-love.”  
  
        “Aww kitty, you’re so cheesy.” Marinette kissed his forehead, then his cheek and after that a short peck on his mouth. “I love you too.”  
  
        Adrien yawned and buried his face in her hair. “We need to tell Alya and Nino that they can come too.” – maybe after a short nap?  
  
         “Already texted them before I came here,” Marinette yawned in response. Her hand running over his chest. “Nap-time?”  
  
        “Nap-time!”  
  
        “God yes, nap-time, finally,” Plagg’s voice joined the silence.  
  
        Suddenly the couple went bright red. They had totally forgotten that her kwamis had been present the entire time. “I’m so sorry, Plagg!” Marinette stuttered. “There’s cheese bread in my bag. Take as much as you want.”  
  
        While Plagg flew to the holy cheese bread, Tikki gave them a smile. “Don’t worry, Marinette. That’s not the first time this happened and not the last. It’s totally normal for kids your age. But I wouldn’t mind if you could warn us the next time.”  
  
        “Y-Yes, sure – no problem!”  
  
        Tikki took off to Plagg and Adrien giggled when he pulled her back.  
  
        Her hand went back to caressing his chest, causing him to purr. Soon Adrien started to snore in her ear as he fell asleep. His body twitched as she accidentally brushed his stomach. Marinette sighed.  
  
        Marinette had forgotten about the cutting. But she could tell that he was better. Well, for now.  
  
        She wasn’t stupid – this was an illness. A habit that he would have a hard time getting rid of. For that he would need professional help and she would be there for him if he needed it. God, even she would need search help from a professional.  
  
        Marinette knew, there will be days where he will feel the need to slice up some skin in order to feel alive and she will be there for him – just as he will be for her.  
  
        They were partners and lovers. Good luck and bad luck. Ying and Yang.  
  
        You can’t love someone’s mental illness away but you can help them by being their power of strength – and that’s what she planned to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to church now and drink all the holy water they have.  
> I really can't see our small beans jumping from kissing to sex in the span of a day so there's just some awkward oral sex. Does it still count as smut? Yes, no? I don't know, I don't care. It was hard to write for me. 
> 
> Thank you for following this fic for almost 3 months.  
> I really love you all. It was an amazing experience to read all the comments (even though I didn't answer most of them). You shared so much with me, especially personal experience, and I feel really honored(?) for sharing it with me. You cheered me up when I was feeling down. I can't possibly describe how much that means to me. I feel like crying right now.  
> Thank you for following this fic.


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